LIDR.IS 


DON  CAMERON  ALLEN   IWjp 


A  HISTORY 

OF    THE 

LITERATURE   OF   ANCIENT   ISRAEL 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON  •    CHICAGO 
DALLAS   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


A  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 


FROM  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  135  B.C. 


BY 

HENRY  THATCHER   FOWLER,  PH.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE  AND  HISTORY 
IN  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 


Wefo  If  orfe 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1912 

All  rights  reserved 


The  Bible  Text  used  in  this  volume  is  taken  from  the  American 
Standard  Edition  of  the  Revised  Bible,  copyright  1901  by  Thomas 
Nelson  and  Sons,  and  is  used  by  permission. 


COPYRIGHT,  1912, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  September,  igia. 


Norfaooti 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO 

HARRIET  NESMITH  FOWLER 

STUDENT   OF   LITERATURE,    KEEN   CRITIC 
WISE   COUNSELLOR 


PREFACE 

IN  recent  years,  many  have  written  general  histories  of  Israel  and 
more  have  discussed  her  writings ;  but,  thus  far,  little  attempt  has 
been  made  to  tell  the  connected  story  of  the  growth  of  Israel's 
thought  in  its  changing  forms  of  expression  and  in  relation  to  other 
aspects  of  her  history.  It  is  now  possible  to  arrange  the  writings  of 
ancient  Israel  in  their  historical  connections  with  more  of  detail  and 
certainty  than  in  the  case  of  most  early  literatures,  and  the  time 
seems  ripe  for  writing  a  history  of  the  literature  of  this  nation 
similar  to  those  written  for  ancient  Greece,  Rome,  India,  Persia, 
Arabia,  and  more  modern  peoples. 

Some  excuse  for  the  undertaking  of  this  high  task  by  the  present 
writer  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  has  waited  a  dozen  years 
since  it  first  seemed  to  him  full  time  for  the  history,  and  has  not  ven- 
tured to  write  this  volume  before  proving,  in  university  and  general 
lectures,  that  such  treatment  of  Israel's  literature  can  be  made  intel- 
ligible and  helpful  to  constructive  thinking. 

Confidence  is  felt  that  the  historical  order  set  forth  rests  upon  a 
firm  basis,  since  it  varies  in  only  a  few  particulars  from  that  pre- 
sented in  "  Outlines  for  the  Study  of  Biblical  History  and  Litera- 
ture," published  nearly  six  years  ago  by  F.  K.  Sanders  and  H.  T. 
Fowler.  Constant  reexamination  of  the  Hebrew  writings  them- 
selves and  consideration  of  the  critical  discussions  published  in 
the  intervening  years  indicate  few  and  slight  changes  in  the  outline 
of  Israel's  literary  history,  then  assumed  as  presenting  the  consensus 
of  scholarship. 

Special  acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  is  due  to  Kabbi  Nathan 
Stern,  Ph.D.,  who  has  read  and  criticised  the  present  work ;  to  Hon. 
John  C.  Rose,  of  the  Federal  Bench,  for  similar  service  in  the  por- 
tions that  treat  of  the  eighth  century  reformers  and  the  law  books 
Deuteronomy  and  Leviticus;  and  to  Professor  Morris  Jastrow,  Jr., 
Ph.D.,  for  a  thorough  revision,  almost  a  new  translation,  of  his  ver- 


viii  PREFACE 

sion  of  the  Babylonian  Deluge  narrative,  made  expressly  for  this 
work  and  most  generously  placed  at  the  service  of  the  author. 
Indebtedness  is  cordially  acknowledged  also  to  Thomas  Nelson  and 
Sons  for  permission  to  quote  The  American  Standard  Version  of 
the  Bible  at  length,  and  to  the  Delegates  and  Syndics  of  the  Uni- 
versity Presses  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  for  similar  permission  to 
use  the  Revised  Version  of  a  portion  of  the  Apocrypha ;  to  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  Lemcke  and  Buechner,  Luzac  and  Company,  Dodd, 
Mead,  and  Company,  and  the  George  H.  Doran  Company  for  per- 
mission to  print  certain  translations  of  Hebrew  and  other  Semitic 
literature  published  by  them. 

The  author  alone  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  any  errors  in  the 
statement  of  facts  or  in  the  copying  of  translations  which  may 

appear  in  the  present  volume. 

HENRY   THATCHER   FOWLER. 
BROWN  UNIVERSITY, 
17  June,  1912. 


NOTE  ON  BOOKS   OF  REFERENCE 

IN  "  Outlines  for  the  Study  of  Biblical  History  and  Literature," 
F.  K.  Sanders  and  H.  T.  Fowler  (New  York:  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons.  $1.25),  the  writings  of  ancient  Israel  are  analyzed  and 
arranged  in  their  historical  connections  with  explicit  references  to 
the  best  critical  literature. 

Dr.  Karl  Budd  in  his  "  Geschichte  der  althebraischen  Litteratur  " 
(Leipzig :  C.  F.  Amelang,  m.  8.50)  discusses  the  writings  of  ancient 
Israel  iii  their  general  chronological  order,  though  grouping  topically 
more  than  the  present  work.  Dr.  Alfred  Bertholet  contributes  the 
chapter  on  the  Apocrypha  in  this  volume. 

The  volumes  of  "  The  Student's  Old  Testament,"  C.  F.  Kent,  offer 
a  new  critical  translation  of  the  books,  analyzed  into  their  component 
documents,  with  historical  introductions  and  copious  notes  and  bibli- 
ographies. The  arrangement  is  in  part  chronological  and  in  part 
topical.  The  successive  volumes  are :  "  Narratives  of  the  Beginnings 
of  Hebrew  History  " ;  "  Israel's  Historical  and  Biographical  Narra- 
tives "  ;  "  Sermons,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  of  Israel's  Prophets  " ; 
"  Israel's  Laws  and  Traditional  Precedents  " ;  "  Songs,  Psalms,  and 
Prayers  "  ;  "  Proverbial  and  Didactic  Poems  "  (New  York :  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons.  $  2.75  per  volume). 

The  standard  Old  Testament  "  Introductions  "  discuss  the  literary 
history  of  each  book,  but  do  not  arrange  the  books  and  documents  in 
historical  order  The  best  of  these  include :  "  An  Introduction  to 
the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,"  S.  R.  Driver  (New  York: 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  $2.50);  "Introduction  to  the  Canonical 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament,"  C.  H.  Cornhill  (New  York :  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons.  London :  Williams  and  Norgate.  $3)  ;  "  A  Bibli- 
cal Introduction,"  W.  H.  Bennett  and  W.  F.  Adeney  (New  York : 
Thomas  Whittaker.  $2) ;  "  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament," 
J.  E.  McFadyen  (New  York :  A.  C.  Armstrong  and  Son.  London : 
Hodder  and  Stoughton.  $1.75). 

ix 


X  NOTE    ON   BOOKS   OF   REFERENCE 

Thorough  articles  on  each  Old  Testament  book  are  given  in: 
"  Encyclopaedia  Biblica "  (New  York  and  London :  Macmillan  and 
Company.  4  yols.  $5  each)  ;  "  A  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,"  James 
Hastings  (New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  Edinburgh :  T.  and 
T.  Clark.  5  vols.  $6  each).  Briefer,  but  excellent,  articles  are 
given  in  the  Hastings  "  One  Volume  Bible  Dictionary"  (New  York : 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons.  $5);  "The  Standard  Bible  Dictionary" 
(New  York:  Funk  and  Wagnalls.  $6);  "The  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica." 

Recent  commentaries,  such  as  "  The  Bible  for  Home  and  School " 
(New  York  :  Macmillan  and  Company)  ;  "  The  International  Critical 
Commentary  "  (New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons)  ;  "  Westminster 
Commentaries  "  (New  York :  Edwin  S.  Gorham.  London :  Methuen 
and  Company)  ;  "  Gottinger  Handkommentar  zum  Alten  Testament," 
W.  Nowack  (Gottingen :  VandenhOeck  and  Ruprecht) ;  "  Kurzer 
Hand-Commentar  zum  Alten  Testament,"  K.  H.  C.  Marti  (Tubingen : 
J.  C.  B.  Mohr),  treat  the  literary  history  of  the  books  in  the  intro- 
ductions of  the  several  volumes. 

Various  aspects  of  the  English  Bible  as  literature  are  discussed 
in  "  Life  and  Literature  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews,"  Lyman  Abbott 
(Boston:  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company.  $2);  "The  Bible  as 
English  Literature,"  J.  H.  Gardiner  (New  York :  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons.  $1.50) ;  "  The  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible,"  R.  G.  Moulton 
(Boston :  D.  C.  Heath  and  Company.  .  $2)  ;  "  A  Short  Introduction 
to  the  Literature  of  the  Bible,"  R.  G.  Moulton  (Boston :  D.  C.  Heath 
and  Company.  $1) ;  "  Hebrew  Life  and  Thought,"  L.  S.  Houghton 
(Chicago :  The  University  of  Chicago  Press.  $1.50). 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT  SEMITIC  WORLD  .        .        .        .        .        .        1 


CHAPTER  n 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  (BEFORE  1040  B.C.)      .       10 
NOTE  ON  THE  FORM  OF  HEBREW  POETRY 25 

CHAPTER   III 
POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  (ABOUT  1040  TO  940  B.C.)         .      34 

CHAPTER  IV 
BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING  (BEFORE  900  B.C.)     .      46 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  (BEFORE  800  B.C.)     ....      66 

CHAPTER   VI 

EARLY  PROSE  NARRATIVES  OF  NORTHERN  ISRAEL  (ABOUT  850  TO 

800  B.C.) 87 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  GREAT  EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY  (ABOUT  800  TO  750  B.C.)  .        .      96 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

HETIC  LITERATURE 
(ABOUT  750  TO  735  B.C.) 105 


PAGE 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE  —  AMOS  AND  HOSEA 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  LITERARY  HERITAGE  FROM  NORTHERN  ISRAEL  (BEFORE  722 

B.C.) •  130 

CHAPTER   X 

BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE  —  ISAIAH  (737  TO 

701  B.C.) 139 

CHAPTER  XI 

MlCAH,  THE  LAST  OF  THE  ElGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS  (ABOUT  722 

TO  680?  B.C.)    . 163 

CHAPTER  XII 

PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES   FORMULATED  INTO  LAW  —  DEUTERONOMY 

(BEFORE  621  B.C.) 175 

CHAPTER  XIII 

REAWAKENING    OF    PROPHECY   IN   JOSIAH'S   REIGN  —  ZEPHANIAH, 

JEREMIAH,  AND  NAHUM  (626  TO  608  B.C.) 190 

CHAPTER  XIV 

NARRATIVE  WRITING  FROM  THE  TIME  OF  AMOS  TO  THE  PUBLICA- 
TION OF  DEUTERONOMY  (750  TO  621  B.C.) 203 

CHAPTER  XV 

PROPHECY  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE  —  JEREMIAH 

AND  HABAKKUK  (608  TO  586  B.C.) 212 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  XVI 

PACK 

LITERATURE  AT  THE  CLOSE  OP  THE  MONARCHY  (597  TO  586  B.C.)      225 

CHAPTER  XVn 

PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  THE  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE  (592  TO 

ABOUT  570  B.C.)       .        .        . 233 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY  (ABOUT  600  TO  550 

B.C.) 251 

CHAPTER  XIX 

SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION  (ABOUT  550  TO  450  B.C.)    262 

CHAPTER  XX 

PROPHECY  AND  NARRATIVE   OF  NEHEMIAH'S  REFORM  (ABOUT  450 

TO  432  B.C.) 287 

CHAPTER   XXI 

PRIESTLY  IDEALS  IN  LAW  AND   HISTORY   (ABOUT  450   TO  ABOUT 

300  B.C.) 293 

CHAPTER  XXII 

STORY,  ORACLE,  AND  SONG  FROM  THE  CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PER- 
SIAN RULE  (432  TO  332  B.C.) 309 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   GREAT  MASTERPIECE,  JOB    (LATTER  PART  OF  FOURTH  CEN- 
TURY B.C.) 321 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

PAGE 

WISDOM  LITERATURE  IN  THE  GREEK  AGE  —  ECCLESIASTES,  PROV- 
ERBS, AND  ECCLESIASTICUS  (332  TO  168  B.C.)     ....    337 

CHAPTER  XXV 

LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE  —  SONG  OF  SONGS  AND  PSALMS 

(332  TO  168  B.C.) 359 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

LITERATURE  OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN  ERA  (168  TO  ABOUT  135 

B.C.) 375 


A  HISTORY 

OP    THE 

LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 


A  HISTORY   OF  THE   LITEKATUKE    OF 
ANCIENT  ISEAEL 

CHAPTER  I 

ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT  SEMITIC  WORLD 

WHEN  the  Hebrews  became  a  nation,  the  history  of  Semitic  civili- 
zation in  Babylonia  already  spanned  a  period  as  long  as  that  from 
the  opening  of  the  Christian  era  to  the  present  century.1  The 
most  ancient  records  found  in  the  Tigris-Euphrates  valley  indi- 
cate that  the  Semites  had  conquered  and  settled  among  earlier 
inhabitants  of  another  race,  who  had  developed  a  high  degree  of 
civilization  before  their  conquerors  came  into  the  region.  When 
the  earliest  written  records  begin,  two  races  are  intermingled,  with 
the  Semites  dominant,  and  two  languages  exist  side  by  side,  the 
one  an  agglutinative  tongue,  the  other  Semitic.  Both  languages 
are  written  in  the  cuneiform  characters  which  had  evidently  been 
borrowed  by  the  Semites.  Civilization  was  far  removed  from 
savage  or  pastoral  conditions ;  a  pure  agricultural  stage  had  been 

1  A  few  years  ago  most  students  of  Babylonian  history  were  agreed 
that  our  knowledge  of  it  extended  back  at  least  as  far  as  4500  or  5000  B.C., 
and  that  the  culture  then  existing  testified  to  a  long  period  of  development 
far  removed  from  anything  that  could  be  styled  a  state  of  savagery.  — 
See  Goodspeed,  A  History  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians;  Rogers, 
History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria;  Sanders  and  Fowler,  Outlines  of  Bib- 
lical History  and  Literature ;  etc.  More  recent  discoveries,  however,  in- 
dicating that  some  of  the  later  Babylonian  dynasties  overlapped,  have 
made  it  probable  that  our  earliest  actual  historical  knowledge  of  Baby- 
lonia does  not  greatly  antedate  3000  B.C.,  although  it  is  true  that  the  civil- 
ization then  existing  clearly  indicates  a  long  period  of  previous  develop- 
ment. See  Winckler,  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria ;  King,  History  of 
Sumer  and  Akkad. 

B  1 


2  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

reached,  with  walled  cities  inhabited  by  people  familiar  with  many 
of  the  arts.  The  prevalent  type  of  government  was  that  of  the 
city  state ;  but  a  tendency  toward  consolidation  through  conquest 
was  soon  manifest,  resulting  hi  the  formation  of  more  or  less  ex- 
tensive kingdoms. 

Most  investigators  of  the  subject  believe  that  the  Arabian  pen- 
insula was  the  region  whence  the  conquerors  came  into  the  fertile 
valley.  It  has  recently  been  contended  that,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  earlier  home  of  the  common  Semitic  stock,  the  conquerors 
of  Babylonia  moved  down  from  the  northwest,  from  a  great  centre 
of  Semitic  civilization  in  Syria  which  antedated  that  in  Babylonia.1 
The  arguments  adduced  hardly  prove  the  thesis,  but  under  either 
hypothesis,  early  in  the  third  millennium  B.C.,  civilized  Semites 
controlled  the  entire  fertile  crescent  of  territory  extending  from  the 
Persian  Gulf  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  northward  of  the  plateau  of 
Arabia. 

Southern  Semites  occupied  the  great  interior  of  Arabia  and  de- 
veloped civilized  states  on  its  southern  shores,  many  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era.  Thence  some,  at  an  early  date,  crossed 
the  lower  end  of  the  Red  Sea  and  settled  in  that  part  of  Africa 
which  we  call  Abyssinia.  These  may  be  passed  by  with  brief 
mention,  for  it  is  with  the  northern  Semites  that  the  student  of 
Hebrew  history  is  concerned. 

According  to  the  view  usually  held,  a  second  irresistible  wave 
of  expanding  population  brought  new  hordes  from  Arabia  into  the 
region  about  its  northern  end  during  the  third  millennium.  To 
this  so-called  Amorite  migration  is  ascribed  the  coming  of  the 
early  Canaanites  and  Phoenicians  into  the  regions  which  they 
secured  and  so  long  held.  Here  they  displaced  a  non-Semitic, 
cave-dwelling  people.2 

At  an  early  date  Egypt  was  influenced  by  Semitic  culture,  and, 
in  turn,  Egyptian  influence  greatly  affected  Canaan.  About 
1675  B.C.  an  Asiatic  dynasty,  known  as  the  Hyksos,  ruled  in  Egypt, 
and  when  the  native  Egyptians  succeeded  in  expelling  the  for- 
eigners, a  century  later,  the  impulse  of  the  movement  carried  the  - 
conquering  Egyptian  armies  into  Canaan  and  brought  the  land 

1  Amurru,  the  Home  of  the  Northern  Semites,  Albert  T.  Clay. 

*  Canaan  d'apres  Vexploration  recente,  H.  Vincent,  pp.  373-426. 


ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT  SEMITIC  WORLD  3 

under  the  sway  of  the  Pharaoh.     Before  1450  B.C.  Egypt's  power 
extended  as  far  as  the  Euphrates,  or  even  into  Mesopotamia. 

The  discovery  at  Tell-el-Amarna  hi  Egypt  (1887-1888)  of  a 
large  collection  of  letters  and  despatches  to  the  Egyptian  kings, 
Amenophis  III  and  IV,  has  given  a  vivid  picture  of  conditions  hi 
Canaan  at  the  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century.1  It  appears 
that  the  land  was  under  local  governors  responsible  to  the  Pharaoh  ; 
these  officers  were  at  feud  with  one  another,  and  the  Egyptian  power 
in  the  land  was  evidently  weakening.  Some  of  the  letters  are 
frantic  appeals  from  the  various  governors  for  the  king  to  send 
troops,  before  the  land  and  cities  are  entirely  lost  to  Egypt.  One 
of  the  Jerusalem  letters  will  serve  as  an  example. 

"To  my  lord,  the  king :  —  Abd-hiba,  your  servant.  At  the  feet  of  my 
lord,  the  king,  seven  and  seven  times,  I  fall.  What  have  I  done  against 
my  lord,  the  king  ?  Some  one  has  slandered  me  before  my  lord,  the  king, 
(saying) :  'Abd-hiba  has  revolted  from  his  lord,  the  king.'  Behold, 
neither  my  father  nor  my  mother  appointed  me  in  this  place.  The  strong 
arm  of  the  king  inaugurated  me  in  my  father's  territory.  Why  should  I 
commit  an  offense  against  my  lord,  the  king?  True  as  the  king  lives, 
because  I  said  to  my  lord,  the  king's  officer:  —  Why  are  you  favorable 
to  the  Habiri  and  unfavorable  to  the  (native  feudal)  princes,  for  this  reason 
they  slander  me  before  my  lord,  the  king.  Because  I  say : — The  territory 
of  my  lord,  the  king,  will  be  ruined,  for  this  reason  they  slander  me  before 
my  lord,  the  king. 

"  Let  my  lord,  the  king,  know  that  my  lord,  the  king,  had  stationed  a 
garrison,  but  .Tfl.nha.nmi  has  taken  (it)  . . .  Egypt . . .  my  lord,  the  king  .  . . 
there  is  no  garrison  there.  Let  the  king  care  for  his  land,  and  [pay  some 
heed]  to  bis  land ;  the  cities  of  my  lord,  the  king,  belonging  to  Ei-milki,  have 
fallen  away,  and  the  whole  territory  of  the  king  will  be  lost.  Let  my  lord, 
the  king,  therefore,  care  for  his  land.  I  think  I  will  go  to  the  court  to  my 
lord,  the  king,  and  see  the  tears 2  of  my  lord,  the  king,  but  the  enemies  are 
powerful  against  me,  and  I  am  not  able  to  go  to  court,  to  my  lord,  the  king. 
May  it  seem  good  therefore  to  my  lord,  the  king,  to  send  a  garrison,  in 
order  that  I  may  go  to  court  and  see  the  tears *  of  my  lord,  the  king.  As 
long  as  my  lord,  the  king,  lives3  when  an  officer  goes  forth,  I  (always) 

1  The  letters  include  diplomatic  correspondence  between  the  kings  of 
Babylonia  and  Mesopotamia  and  the  Pharaoh,  messages  from  subject 
rulers  of  Phoenicia  and  northern  Syria,  as  well  as  from  various  cities  of 
Palestine,  —  Jerusalem,  Ashkelon,  Gezer,  Lachish. 

2  Perhaps  an  error  for  "face."  *  Oath  =  by  the  life  of  the  king. 


4  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

say :  —  The  land  of  the  king  is  going  to  ruin.  If  you  do  not  listen  to  me, 
all  the  dependent  princes  will  be  lost,  and  my  lord,  the  king,  will  have 
no  more  dependent  princes.  Let  the  king  therefore  turn  his  attention  to 
the  princes,  and  let  my  lord,  the  king,  send  troops.  The  king  has  no 
longer  any  territory,  the  Habiri  have  devastated  all  the  king's  territory. 
If  troops  come  in  this  year,  the  territory  will  remain  my  lord,  the  king's, 
but  if  no  troops  come,  the  territory  of  my  lord,  the  king,  is  lost.  To  the 
scribe  of  my  lord,  the  king :  —  Abd-hiba,  your  servant.  Bring  plainly 
(aloud)  before  my  lord,  the  king,  (these)  words:  'The  whole  territory  of 
my  lord,  the  king,  is  going  to  ruin.'"1 

Frequent  mention  is  made  of  a  people  called  Habiri  who  are 
rapidly  getting  a  foothold  in  the  land.  In  these  we  may  possibly 
be  justified  in  finding  the  forerunners  of  the  Hebraic  migration. 

The  language  used,  even  when  a  local  governor  of  Syria  or 
Canaan  is  writing  to  Egypt,  is  the  Semitic  Babylonian,  and  the 
script  is  the  cuneiform.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  course 
of  the  early  migrations  and  settlement,  it  is  clear  that  the  language 
and  mode  of  writing  of  the  Babylonians  had  spread  throughout  the 
entire  region  from  the  lower  Euphrates  valley  to  the  borders  of 
Egypt.  Recent  discoveries  at  the  old  Hittite  capital  in  Asia 
Minor  show  that  the  same  mode  of  writing  was  familiar  there,  even 
though  the  Hittites  had  their  own  written  language. 

At  the  time  of  the  Egyptian  conquest  of  Syria,  the  political 
power  of  Babylonia  had  waned.  The  next  three  centuries  saw 
the  north  Semitic  world  in  much  confusion.  A  people  styled  the 
Mitanni  ruled  in  Mesopotamia,  and  the  Hittites  moved  down 
into  Syria.  While  these  two  seem  to  have  been  kindred  peoples, 
they  were  mutually  hostile.  Spreading  from  an  original  centre  on 
the  east  side  of  the  upper  Tigris,  the  new  Semitic  kingdom  of 
Assyria  extended  itself  into  Mesopotamia  and  waged  bitter  war  with 
the  Babylonians  on  its  south.  The  Hittites  forced  Egypt  out  of 
northern  Syria  and  limited  her  Asiatic  territory  to  the  region 
south  of  the  Lebanons. 

During  these  centuries  of  confusion,  there  seems  to  have  come 
another  overflow  from  Arabia,  styled  the  Aramean  migration. 
By  1300  B.C.  the  Arameans  were  moving  up  the  Euphrates  valley 
and  westward.  It  was  probably  this  movement  which  brought 

1  Winckler,  The  T ell-el- Amarna  Letters,  pp.  303-305. 


ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT  SEMITIC  WORLD  5 

the  progenitors  of  the  Hebraic  peoples  from  Mesopotamia  to  the 
borders  of  Palestine.1  Here  in  the  region  east  of  the  Jordan  and 
Dead  Sea,  a  part  of  the  migrating  people  obtained  settlement  and 
became  the  nations  of  Ammon  and  Moab.  The  others  passed  to 
the  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  where  a  part  found  a  permanent  home 
in  the  mountainous  district,  becoming  the  people  known  as  Edom. 
Still  others  continued  in  a  somewhat  wandering  state  on  the 
high  steppe  land  at  the  south  of  Canaan,  until  a  part  of  them 
entered  the  Delta  region  of  Egypt.  The  fertility  of  this  district 
has  ever  attracted  those  who  dwell  on  the  borders  of  the  desert. 
It  seems  probable  that  only  a  small  part  of  the  tribes  eventually 
amalgamated  into  the  Hebrew  people  actually  entered  Egypt. 
Possibly  only  two  closely  allied  tribes  knew  Egyptian  bondage; 
there  is  indication  that  others  remained  hi  the  region  southward 
of  Beersheba,  and  that  still  others  were  assimilated  after  entrance 
into  Canaan. 

It  was  not  far  from  1200  B.C.  that  the  tribes  which  had  settled 
in  Egypt  made  their  escape,  after  they  had  been  for  a  time  subjected 
to  task  work  by  Ramses  II.  In  the  wilderness  south  of  Palestine 
they  became  closely  affiliated  with  the  kindred  tribes  that  had 
continued  in  that  region,  and  entered  into  covenant  relation  with 
the  God  Yahweh.2  After  a  somewhat  prolonged  sojourn  hi  this 

1  Cf.  Deuteronomy  26 5. 

1  The  form  Jehovah,  the  use  of  which  has  not  been  noted  earlier  than 
the  fourteenth  century  A.D.  (see  Moore,  Am.  Jour.  Theol.,  January,  1908), 
was  certainly  not  the  name  of  the  God  of  ancient  Israel.  Jehovah  is, 
however,  generally  used  in  the  present  volume  to  avoid  the  interruption 
of  thought  occasioned  to  most  readers  by  meeting  the  name  in  an  unfamiliar 
form.  The  chief  exceptions  are  in  translations  of  poetry  when  "Jehovah" 
sadly  breaks  the  metre.  The  Hebrew  name  was  written  Yhwh,  and  long 
before  the  vowel  signs  were  invented,  the  Jews  had  come  to  regard 
."the  name"  as  too  sacred  for  utterance.  In  its  place,  they  read  usually 
Lord,  sometimes  God.  When  the  vowels  were  inserted  in  the  Hebrew 
text,  those  of  Lord  or  God  were  written.  The  vowels  of  the  Hebrew  word 
for  Lord,  with  the  four  consonants  of  the  proper  name  of  Israel's  God 
came  finally  to  be  represented  in  English  as  Jehovah,  though  the  English 
versions,  prior  to  the  American  Revision,  generally  followed  the  practice 
of  using  the  title  Lord  instead  of  the  proper  name,  indicating  the  places 
where  it  represented  the  proper  name  by  printing  in  capital  letters.  The 
vowel  sounds  were  probably  originally  a  and  e.  The  name  Yahweh,  from 


6  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

district,  movements  east  of  the  Jordan  offered  an  opportunity  to 
secure  a  more  settled  abode.  A  king  from  the  region  to  the 
northeast  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  had  recently  moved  down  and 
driven  Ammon  back  to  the  borders  of  the  Arabian  desert.  The 
confederated  tribes,  making  a  long  detour  to  the  south  of  Edom 
and  east  of  Moab,  swept  down  upon  the  Jordan  valley  at  the 
northern  border  of  Moab  and  effectually  dislodged  the  new 
Amorite  settlers. 

From  the  vantage  ground  of  the  east  Jordan  district,  favorable 
opportunity  was  soon  found  for  the  passage  of  the  river  and  for 
the  gradual  occupation  of  the  central  ridge  of  Canaan,  which  runs 
from  north  to  south  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan  valley.  The 
older  portions  of  Israel's  historical  narratives,  supported  by  the 
facts  of  later  conditions,  show  that  this  occupation  was  indeed 
very  gradual  and  that  the  newcomers  were  forced  to  live  for 
generations  in  the  midst  of  the  older  population  which  continued 
to  hold  many  of  the  walled  towns  and  the  more  fertile  valleys.1 

Before  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century  B.C.,  the  major  part  of 
the  federated  tribes  which  acknowledged  Jehovah  as  their  covenant 
God  had  crossed  to  Palestine  proper,  although  some  had  found 
permanent  settlement  east  of  the  Jordan  and  north  of  Moab.  A 
reference  on  an  Egyptian  monument  seems  to  make  it  clear  that 
Asher  was  settled  in  Canaan  before  the  exodus  from  Egypt,  and 
the  theory  is  plausible  that  the  other  three  concubine  tribes 2  were 
late  members  of  the  confederation,  perhaps  affiliated  only  after 
the  settlement  in  Canaan. 

We  do  not  know  how  far  the  invading  tribes  may  have  been 
familiar  with  the  arts  and  usages  of  settled  agricultural  life  when 
they  entered  Canaan,  nor  how  much  they  already  possessed  of 
the  customs,  laws,  and  traditional  lore  of  their  race.  Haran  in 
Mesopotamia,  whence  the  Hebraic  migration  apparently  moved 
down,  was  an  ancient  seat  of  Semitic  religion  and  culture.  It 
may  be  that  the  tribes  which  ultimately  became  the  people  of 
Israel  brought  from  their  temporary  Mesopotamian  home,  and 

a  root  meaning  to  become,  may  signify  either  He  who  is,  absolutely,  or  He 
who  brings  into  being. 

1  See,  e.g.,  Judges  1  2°.  »•  27-36. 

2  Dan,  Naphtali,  Gad,  Genesis  30. 


ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT   SEMITIC  WORLD  7 

preserved  through  all  their  nomad  days,  more  of  the  traditions  of 
the  civilized  Semites  than  pure  nomads  would  naturally  possess. 
It  may  be  that  the  influential  portion  of  the  tribes  which  sojourned 
in  Egypt  absorbed  and  carried  away  some  elements  of  Egyptian 
culture.  It  will  never  be  possible  to  determine  how  much  Israel 
brought  with  her  into  Palestine,  for  she  settled  in  the  midst  of  the 
highly  civilized  Semites  of  Canaan  and  gradually  absorbed  their 
ancient  culture.  The  close  kinship  of  the  Canaanite  culture  with 
that  of  Babylonia  and  the  long  rule  of  Egypt  in  Palestine  have 
already  been  noted.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  discriminate 
between  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  ideas  which  Israel  brought 
into  Canaan  and  those  which  she  gamed  from  the  earlier  inhabi- 
tants of  the  land. 

Israel's  prehistoric  traditions  have  been  subjected  to  the  most 
searching  analysis  in  the  effort  to  determine  their  ultimate  origin. 
Some  bear  on  their  face  evidence  of  their  rise  in  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  district;  such  are  the  story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden 
and  of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  Some  seem  to  be  of  Canaanite  origin ; 
many  of  these  centre  about  Hebron  or  Bethel.  Still  others 
indicate  something  of  Egyptian  influence.  While  it  is  possible 
thus  to  determine  with  much  certainty  the  original  habitat  of 
many  of  Israel's  stories,  such  analysis  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
when  the  various  elements  became  the  possession  of  Israel.  To 
the  sources  of  uncertainty  on  this  point  that  have  already  been 
indicated,  we  must  add  the  facts  that  direct  intercourse  with  Egypt 
continued  throughout  all  periods  of  Hebrew  history,  and,  from  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century  on,  Israel  came  into  contact,  first, 
with  Assyria  and  then,  with  the  new  Babylonian  kingdom. 
Assyria  conquered  and  absorbed  northern  Israel  in  the  eighth 
century,  and  later,  Babylon  subdued  Judah  and  carried  into  exile 
the  more  cultured  portion  of  the  people.  Of  these  the  greater 
part  never  returned  to  Palestine,  and  the  Babylonian  Jews  domi- 
nated the  life  and  literature  of  Palestinian  Judaism  for  centuries. 
These  facts  may  suffice  to  indicate  the  difficulty  of  determining  the 
exact  historical  relation  between  Israel's  thought  and  that  of  the 
Babylonians,  Assyrians,  Canaanites,  and  Egyptians,  and  also  to 

suggest  that  all  periods  of  Hebrew  literature  will  show  influences 

from  one  or  several  of  these  sources 


8  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

It  is  possible  to  distinguish,  in  large  measure,  those  elements 
of  Israel's  literature,  both  of  form  and  substance,  which  are  a 
part  of  her  heritage  as  a  division  of  the  great  Semitic  race  and 
those  which  are  due  to  her  own  peculiar  genius  and  national 
history.1  Such  discrimination  will  reveal  the  fact  that  the 
literature  of  ancient  Israel  has  preserved  and  transmitted  to  the 
modern  world  the  rich  deposit  of  whole  millenniums  of  cultural 
development,  so  that  through  it  the  Christian  nations  have 
become  heirs  to  a  great  Semitic  heritage.  Yet  such  discrimina- 
tion will  make  it  equally  clear  that  the  notion  of  Israel's  literature 
as  little  more  than  the  retort  in  which  the  fine  metal  was  pre- 
cipitated is  quite  inadequate. 

The  study  of  pre-classical  history  is  making  it  more  and  more 
clear  that  Greek  civilization  was  not  born  Athene-like,  but  that 
the  Hellenes  absorbed  vast  stores"  of  culture,  intellectual,  moral, 
artistic,  from  the  nations  that  had  gone  before.  Greece  was 
heir  of  Egypt  and  Babylonia.  Greek  architecture,  law,  letters, 
philosophy,  all  show  the  influence  of  these  earlier  civilizations; 
yet  a  Greek  temple  is  not  simply  an  Egyptian  temple,  despite  its 
manifest  kinship,  and  Greek  stoicism  is  not  simply  a  Semitic 
philosophy,  though  its  founder  was  a  Semite.  According  to 
their  peculiar  genius,  the  Greeks  transformed,  perfected,  and 

1  If  we  agree  with  the  Panbabylonists  that  "it  is  evident  to  the  simplest 
reflection  on  the  nature  and  origin  of  human  thoughts  that  the  ideas  which 
conquered  the  old  civilized  world  did  not  spring  up  in  some  remote  corner," 
we  may  be  forced  to  admit  that  among  the  Babylonians  "Judaism  must 
have  received  not  only  its  impulse,  but  also  its  entire  system,"  and  we  may 
even  assent  to  the  sweeping  generalization  "that  the  origins  of  the 
fundamental  teachings  of  Judaism,  not  yet  discovered  in  cuneiform 
literature,  shall  yet  be  found  there."  See  Winckler,  History  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  Eng.  trans.,  pp.  157-158.  Most  of  us,  however,  will  hardly 
feel  justified  in  coming  to  conclusions  that  leave  mere  facts  so  far  behind, 
resting  on  assumed  invariable,  historical  law  that  is  itself  hardly 
established ;  if,  indeed,  it  be  not  contrary  to  known  facts  of  history.  The 
discussion  of  the  literary  history  of  Israel  in  the  following  pages  will 
proceed  along  the  lines  already  indicated  in  the  text,  recognizing  that 
Israel  inherited  or  absorbed  much  from  the  closely  interrelated  world  of 
which  she  was  a  part,  but  that  her  own  national  genius  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  for  those  elements  of  spirit  and  thought  in  her  literature  which  have 
no  parallel  or  close  analogy  in  the  writings  of  other  peoples. 


ISRAEL  IN  THE  ANCIENT  SEMITIC  WORLD  9 

made  a  new  creation  all  that  they  adopted  from  preceding  ages. 
Quite  as  distinctly  in  certain  directions,  Israel  made  her  heritage 
a  new  creation.  Her  literature  is  not  only  the  deposit  of  millen- 
niums of  Semitic  history,  but  something  unique  in  itself  —  inade- 
quately symbolized  by  the  fine  metal  —  rather  the  finest  flowering 
of  the  whole  Semitic  race. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  BEGINNINGS   OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE 

(Before  1040  B.C.} 

THE  Tell-el-Amarna  tablets  and  some  recent  discoveries  in 
Palestine  itself  have  shown  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  B.C.  the 
written  language  of  Canaan  was  cuneiform  Babylonian.1  Just 
when  the  alphabetic  writing  of  the  people  of  Canaan  superseded 
this  mode  of  expression  is,  as  yet,-  undetermined ;  though  it  must 
have  been  between  1400  and  1000  or  900  B.C.  The  Moabite  Stone, 
a  few  Hebrew  inscriptions  from  the  age  of  the  monarchy,  Phoenician 
and  Aramaic  inscriptions,  show  that  from  the  ninth  century  and 
probably  indicate  that  from  at  least  1000  B.C.  the  peoples  of  Ca- 
naan employed  essentially  one  language  and  one  alphabetic  mode  of 
writing.  This  was  already  so  perfected  by  the  ninth  century  as 
to  suggest  long  usage.2 

Indications  as  to  the  dates  of  the  oldest  documents  into  which 
the  Hebrew  histories  may  be  analyzed  carry  us  back  to  about 
the  same  point  as  the  inscriptions.  Our  earliest  Hebrew  book 
(Amos)  dates  only  from  the  eighth  century;  but  critical  analysis 
of  the  books  of  Samuel  yields  connected  prose  narratives  which 
must  have  assumed  written  form  at  least  a  century  earlier,  and  it 
may  be  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the  tenth  century.  Such 
facts  limit  the  tune  for  the  transition  from  the  Babylonian  cunei- 

1  See  p.  4. 

2  Some  date  the  earliest  Phoenician  inscription  at  about    1000  B.C. 
See  Standard  Bib.  Diet.,  §  Alphabet;  Ency.  Brit,  (llth  ed.),  §  Alphabet. 
The  Moabite  Stone,  set  up  by  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  to  commemorate 
his  deliverance  from  Hebrew  oppression  soon  after  Ahab's  reign,  dates 
from  about  845  B.C.     The  bits  of  inscribed  pottery,  found  in  the  supposed 
palace  of  Omri  and  Ahab  by  the  Harvard  expedition  in  1910,  indicate  that 
in  the  first  hah*  of  the  ninth  century  B.C.  Israel  used  alphabetic  writing 
with  the  ease  and  grace  of  long  custom.     See  Harvard  Theological  Review, 
January,  1911. 

10 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  11 

form  to  Canaanite  alphabetic  writing  to  a  period  of  four  or  five 
centuries.1  This  extends  from  two  centuries  before  the  exodus2 
to  the  time  of  David  or  the  early  years  of  the  divided  kingdom, 
soon  after  Solomon's  death. 

Some  poems  and  many  historical  traditions  concerning  the 
exodus  and  settlement  in  Canaan  have  come  down  from  this 
period ;  but  we  cannot  say  whether  any  of  these  were  committed 
to  writing  earlier  than  the  time  of  David  or  Solomon.  We  know  that 
some  of  them  were  already  written  and  even  gathered  into  books 
before  they  were  embodied  by  the  historians  of  the  ninth  and 
eighth  centuries  hi  their  writings;  but  if  they  were  not  written 
down  till  a  short  time  before  this,  none  of  the  extant  Hebrew  poetry- 
would  indicate  a  period  of  oral  transmission  longer  than  that 
established  for  some  of  the  pre-Islamic,  Arabic  poems  —  the  latter 
were  preserved  by  oral  tradition  for  at  least  three  or  four  hundred 
years.3  We  can  only  say  that  a  few  poetic  bits,  preserved  to  us, 
probably  assumed  fixed  form  before  the  entrance  into  Canaan, 
and  that  several  short  poems  and  one  of  some  ninety  lines  have 
existed  hi  substantially  their  original  form  since  the  early  years 
of  struggle  for  possession  of  Palestine. 

Among  the  fragments  that  may  have  been  composed  in  the 
wilderness  period,  the  song  commemorating  the  unexpected  es- 
cape at  the  Red  Sea  naturally  comes  to  mind  at  the  outset.  In 
its  present  form  this  elaborate  poem  shows  unmistakable  acquaint- 
ance with  later  events. 

Then  were  the  chiefs  of  Edom  dismayed : 

The  mighty  men  of  Moab,  trembling  taketh  hold  upon  them : 

All  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  are  melted  away.4 

These  lines  presuppose  events  at  the  close  of  the  wilderness  sojourn, 
while 

1  The  significance  of  the  origin  of  this  "Semitic  alphabet"  is  appre- 
ciated when   one   realizes   that   from   it   came   the    Greek    and    other 
European  alphabets. 

2  Present  knowledge  of  Egyptian  history  and  of  Egyptian  control  over 
Palestine  makes  it  clear  that  the  exodus  could  not  have  occurred  till 
about  1200  B.C.     See  Outlines  Biblical  Hist,  and  Lit.,  Sanders  and  Fowler, 
pp.  28-29,  where  references  are  given  to  recent  literature. 

3  R.  A.  Nicholson,  Literary  History  of  Arabs,  pp.  xxii,  131. 

4  Exodus  15  15. 


12  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

the  mountain  of  thine  inheritance, 

The  place,  0  Yahweh,  which  thou  hast  made  for  thee  to  dwell  in, 
The  sanctuary,  0  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have  established, 

clearly  carry  us  down  at  least  to  the  time  of  Solomon,  more  than 
two  centuries  later  than  the  deliverance  at  the  Sea.  There  is, 
however,  no  reason  why  the  nucleus  of  this  poem  may  not  have 
been  composed  at  the  time  of  the  event  commemorated.  How 
far  this  nucleus  extended  beyond  the  couplet  — 

Sing  ye  to  Yahweh,  for  in  triumph  he  rose ; 
Horse  and  chariot  he  cast  to  the  sea1  — 

it  is  impossible  to  say.2 

In  the  traditions  of  the  Exodus  period,  the  north  Arabian  tribe 
of  the  Kenites  is  prominent.  In  their  district  was  the  sacred 
mountain  where  Moses  had  his  vision  of  Jehovah  and  where,  after 
the  escape  from  Egypt,  the  tribes  entered  into  covenant  with  the 
God  who  revealed  himself  in  thunder  clouds,  on  the  mountain's 
summit.  Without  committing  ourselves  to  the  theory  that  this 
was  Israel's  first  contact  with  Jehovah  and  that  the  covenant  was 
simply  an  adoption  of  the  Kenite  God,  we  may  fully  recognize 
that  the  Kenites  became  a  part  of  the  confederation  which  ulti- 
mately developed  into  the  Hebrew  nation,  and  that  their  traditional 
lore  became  a  portion  of  Israel's  heritage.  One  trace  of  this 

Adopting  with  Cornill  (Intro.  Canonical  Bks.,  0.  T.,  pp.  118-119) 
the  form  of  v.  21,  "Sing  ye,"  rather  than  "I  sing."  Usually  where  the 
translations  of  Hebrew  poetry  given  in  this  book  vary  from  those  of  the 
American  Standard  Version  without  special  note,  it  is  due  to  the  present 
author's  attempt  to  approach  more  nearly  to  the  terseness  and  rhythm 
of  the  original ;  these  qualities  cannot  be  adequately  reproduced  in 
a  translation.  For  example,  in  the  second  line  of  the  above  couplet, 
the  Hebrew  has  only  four  words,  of  seven  full  syllables  in  all.  The 
usual  English  version  (both  A.  V.  and  R.  V.)  has  thirteen  syllables; 
the  above  translation  has  reduced  the  number  to  ten  and  has  tried  to 
suggest  in  each  line  the  four  beats  of  the  Hebrew  metre.  By  a  slight 
change  of  the  late  vowel  points,  one  may  read  chariot  rather  than  rider 
or  charioteer.  See  McNeile,  Exodus,  Westminster  Com.,  in  loc. 

2  Consideration  of  the  poem  in  its  relation  to  the  parallel  prose  narra- 
tive of  ch.  14,  and  to  the  general  development  of  Hebrew  language  and 
literature,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  composed,  as  a  whole,  not 
earlier  than  the  Babylonian  Exile  and  perhaps  even  later.  See  McNeile, 
op.  cit.,  p.  88  f.  Baentsch  in  Nowack's  Handkommentar,  I,  2,  p.  128  f. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  13 

latter  fact  we  may  find  in  "The  Song  of  the  Sword."  *•  The  context 
suggests  the  theory  that  the  song  utters  the  fierce  joy  incident  to 
the  discovery  of  the  advantage  of  sharp-edged  weapons  of  metal. 
Although  there  is  no  adequate  ground  for  believing  that  these  lines 
took  shape  in  any  such  remote  past  as  the  time  when  the  Kenite  an- 
cestors first  made  this  discovery,  the  song  does  sound  "an  echo  from 
the  old  times  of  the  Bedouins  " 2  and  may  give  us  a  true  type  of  the 
boastful  speech  of  a  nomad  tribe,  a  report  from  the  beginning  of 
poetic  art.3  Perhaps  the  shout  "Cam  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold" 
was  an  old  Kenite  tribal  cry.4  The  poem  is  now  commonly  inter- 
preted as  an  expression  of  the  law  of  blood  revenge,  so  dominant 
among  the  Bedouin  of  to-day  and  constantly  presupposed  in 
Hebrew  law  and  literature.  Marti,  however,  finds  in  it  the  voice 
of  an  age  when  "the  strict  law  of  the  Jus  talionis  was  as  yet  un- 
known, when  vengeance  still  had  free  play." 5  The  poem  consists 
of  six  lines :  — 

Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  saying, 
Wives  of  Lamech  listen  my  speaking : 

For  a  man  have  I  slain  for  my  wounding, 
And  a  youth  for  my  striking. 

If  sevenfold  Cain  shall  sure  be  avenged, 
Then  Lamech  seventy  and  seven.6 

One  would  like  to  feel  certain  that  the  charming  little  "  Song 
of  the  Well " 7  can  rightly  be  ascribed  to  the  same  early  era  of 

1  Genesis  4  M. 

2  Marti,  Religion  of  Old  Testament,  p.  46. 

3  Budde,  Geschichte  der  Althebrdischen  Litter  atur,  p.  14. 

4  See  Gordon,  Early  Traditions  of  Genesis,  pp.  188-191. 
*  Marti,  op.  tit. 

6  This  translation  seeks  to  indicate  the  uniform  ending  of  the  first  four 
lines  and  also  the  shortening  from  four  to  three   beats  in  the  second 
members  of  the  second  and  third  couplets.     In  the  Hebrew  each  line 
ends  in  i.     A  similar  effect  has  been  well  brought  out  in  the  German  by 
Budde  (Gesch.  Alth.  Lit.,  p.  14). 

Ada  und  Zillah,  hort  meine  Stimme, 
Ihr  Weiber  Lamechs,  lauscht  meiner  Rede  : 
Einen  Mann  ersehlag  ich  f  tir  meine  Wunde, 
Und  ein  Kind  fur  meine  Strieme. 

7  Numbers  21  "-18. 


14  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

the  wilderness  sojourn.  The  Negeb,1  with  its  traditions  of  ancient 
wells  on  which  the  possibility  of  life  depended,2  may  easily  have 
been  its  birthplace,  but  whether  it  comes  from  the  days  of  the  nomad 
life  or  later,  it  is  a  true  bit  of  early  folksong  with  idyllic  flavor; 
it  has  the  typical  folksong  form,  a  single  strophe  of  four  lines  com- 
plete hi  itself.3  Budde  may  be  right  in  finding  in  it  reference  to  a 
custom  known  among  later  Arabs  of  lightly  covering  a  well  that 
has  been  discovered  and  later  formally  reopening  and  declaring  it 
clan  property.  In  this  ceremony,  symbolic  action  is  performed 
with  the  sceptre-like  staffs  of  the  Sheiks.4  Ewald  thought  of  it 
as  belonging  to  the  class  "of  popular  songs  accompanying  the 
alternate  strokes  of  hard  labor." 5  Such  songs  of  work  are  known 
to  us  from  the  fourth  millennium  B.C.  in  Egypt;  such  are  still 
the  delight  of  the  fellahin  as  they  work  their  water-wheels.6  It  is 
noticeable  in  this  folksong  that  the  well  is  not  conceived  as  the 
abode  of  some  spirit ;  at  first  the  opening  seems  like  an  example  of 
personification;  but,  more  probably,  as  Robertson  Smith  held, 
the  fountain  itself  was  thought  of  and  addressed  as  a  supernatural 
being ;  "  of  all  inanimate  things  that  which  has  the  best  marked 
supernatural  associations  among  the  Semites  is  flowing  or,  as  the 
Hebrews  say,  '  living'  water."7  The  lines  are:  — 

Spring  up,  0  well !    Sing  to  it ! 

Well  that  the  princes  dug, 
That  the  nobles  of  the  people  delved, 

With  sceptre,  with  their  staffs.8 

1  The  regions  south  of  Judah,  approximately  from  the  hills  south  of 
Hebron  to  Kadesh. 

2  Genesis  21 22S  .,  26  -15ff  . ;  Judges  1  15 ;  Joshua  15  19. 

3  See  Gummere,  The  Beginnings  of  Poetry,  p.  417. 

4  New  World  (March,   1895),  pp.    136-144 ;     Preussische  Jahrbucher, 
1895,  pp.  491-580,  referred  to  by  Gray,  Numbers,  Int.  Crit.  Com. 

•  Ewald,  Hist.  Isr.  (Eng.),  II,  203,  n.  3. 

6  See  Erman,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt  (Eng.),  p.  385. 

7  See  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites,  pp.  127,  167.     For  criticism  of 
the  last  interpretation,  and  for  general  discussion  of  the  entire  subject  with 
additional  references,  see  Gray,  Numbers,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  pp.  288  ff. 

8  In  the  Hebrew,  the  last  couplet  rimes.     One  might  try  to  reproduce 
very  freely  in  English 

Well  that  the  nobles  may  now  quaff. 
Opened  with  their  sceptre  and  their  staff. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OP  HEBREW  LITERATURE  15 

Another  possible  specimen  of  the  songs  of  this  period  is  intro- 
duced in  Numbers1  as  commemorating  the  conquest  of  the  east 
Jordan  territory  before  the  entrance  into  Canaan.  Strong  argu- 
ments have  been  adduced  for  believing  that  the  poem  grew  rather 
out  of  Omri's  victories  over  Moab,  after  900  B.C.,  and  was  modified 
to  fit  the  earlier  period.  If  such  is  really  the  case,  it  belongs  to  a 
later  time  than  that  now  under  consideration.2 

Come  ye  to  Heshbon  !    Let  it  be  built ! 

And  let  Sihon's  city  be  established ! 

When  fire  went  out  from  Heshbon, 

Flame  from  Sihon's  burgh : 

It  devoured  Ar  of  Moab  ; 

It  consumed  the  heights  of  Arnon. 

Woe  to  thee,  Moab  ! 

Perished,  0  folk  of  Kemosh ! 

He  hath  given  his  sons  as  fugitives, 

And  his  daughters  into  captivity, 

To  an  Amorite  King,  Sihon.3 

The  introduction  preceding  this  song,  "They  that  speak  in 
proverbs  say,"  indicates  the  existence  of  a  recognized  class  of 
composers  and  reciters  of  such  poems.  Their  presence  would 
facilitate  long  oral  transmission,  as  it  did,  many  centuries  later, 
among  the  Arabian  Semites.  This  song  of  triumph  exhibits 
something  of  the  character  of  ancient  taunt  songs  so  widely  found 
among  primitive  peoples.4  From  the  days  of  the  Judges,  before 
the  rise  of  the  monarchy,  comes,  quite  surely,  Jotham's  striking 
fable  concerning  the  trees  that  went  forth  to  anoint  a  king  over 
them.5  In  its  artistic,  elaborate  structure,  it  testifies  to  a  long 

1  21  27-30^ 

2  For  discussion  of  occasion,  see  Gray,  Numbers,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  pp. 
300  f.  ;  Baentsch,  Norwack's  Handkommentar,  I,  2,  pp.  184  f. ;  Schmidt, 
Messages  of  the  Poets,  pp.  326  f. 

3  The  last  couplet  is  omitted,  for  the  text  and  translation  are  utterly 
uncertain. 

4  The  Fescennine  verses  of  the  early  Romans,  with  their  personal 
raillery  and  satirical  comment,  may  be  compared.     See  Duff,  Literary 
History  of  Rome.     Mr.  H.  E.  Krehbiel  in  his  lecture  on  American  Folksong 
gives  an  interesting  example  from  the  West  Indian  negroes. 

5  Judges  9  8-15. 


16  THE   LITERATURE   OP  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

previous  development  of  the  type.  To  the  same  age,  Samson's 
riddles  are  to  be  assigned.  The  first  of  these  that  we  meet, 

From  the  eater  came  forth  food 

And  from  the  fierce  came  something  sweet,1 

is  a  "riddle"  quite  insoluble  without  knowledge  of  a  particular 
fact.  When  the  needed  information  has  been  obtained  through 
Samson's  wife,  the  answer  is  given  in  a  corresponding  couplet :  — 

What  is  sweeter  than  honey  ? 
And  what  is  fiercer  than  a  lion  ? 2 

Samson's  reply  forms  a  rimed  couplet :  — 

If  with  my  heifer  you  did  not  plow, 
You  had  not  solved  my  riddle  now.3 

The  lines  celebrating  the  slaughter  of  the  Philistines  contain  a 
pun,  the  same  Hebrew  word  being  used  for  both  ass  and  heap  or 
mass. 

With  the  jawbone  of  an  ass 
Mass  upon  mass, 
With  the  jawbone  of  an  ass 
Have  I  slain  a  thousand  men.4 

These  examples  of  bucolic  rime  and  humor  give  us  a  glimpse  of 
that  early  age  when  each  man  did  that  which  was  "right  in  his 
own  eyes,"  in  the  field  of  poetic  composition  as  in  other  activities. 
In  the  use  of  paronomasia,  however,  they  were  not  anomalous. 
The  Egyptians,  of  ancient  culture,  took  great  delight  in  puns,5  and 
later  Hebrew  literature  is  full  of  curious  plays  upon  words,  some- 
times hi  the  most  solemn  passages  of  warning  or  denunciation. 

1  Judges  14  ". 

2  Judges  14  18. 

8  Adopting  translation  of   Kent,  Student's  0.   T.,  I,  343.     The  final 
words  of  the  two  lines  are  eglathi  and  hidathi. 

4  Judges  15  16. 

5  Erman  attempts  to  reproduce  the  effect  of  some  of  their  lines,  declaring 
the  English  puns  no  more  far-fetched  in  sound  than  the  original. 

The  wheels  of  thy  chariot 
Thou  vrieldest  thy  battle  axe. 
The  scythe  of  thy  chariot 
Draws  sighs  from  all  nations. 

—  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  396. 


THE   BEGINNINGS   OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE          17 

From  the  Samson  bits,  which  a  rude  age  thought  worth  preserv- 
ing, we  may  turn  to  the  prayer  at  the  taking  up  of  the  sacred  ark. 
If  this  did  not  come  from  the  period  of  the  wilderness  sojourn, 
it  must  at  least  have  been  formulated  before  the  ark  was  brought 
to  its  permanent  resting  place  on  Mount  Zion.  The  prayer 
would  be  appropriate  in  connection  with  sending  forth  the  ark  as 
a  palladium  in  battle,  as  in  the  instance  narrated  in  1  Samuel  4. 

Rise  up,  0  Yahweh, 

And  make  thine  enemies  to  flee, 

And  let  them  fly  who  hate  thee.1 

The  corresponding  lines  for  the  safe  return  of  the  ark  to  its 
resting-place  may  be  rendered:  — 

Return,  0  Yahweh, 
And  bless  the  myriads 
Of  Israel's  clans.2 

Aside  from  these  interesting  relics,  most  of  the  poems  included 
in  the  narratives  from  Genesis  to  Judges  bear  their  own  internal 
testimony  to  then-  origin  under  the  monarchy,  rather  than  hi  the 
earlier  times  with  which  their  settings  associate  them.  Whatever 
of  uncertainty  may  attach  to  the  effort  to  assign  many  specific 
poems  to  the  pre-monarchical  period,  the  one  great  literary  monu- 
ment of  this  age,  the  Deborah  Song,3  is  in  itself  evident  proof  that 
already,  in  the  days  of  the  early  tribal  struggles  for  possession  of 
the  land,  the  poet's  art  had  reached  great  power  and  some  refine- 
ment. 

This  victory  ode  has  suffered  sadly  hi  its  long  transmission,  so 
that  many  lines  are  no  longer  fully  intelligible,  especially  in  the 
central  portion  of  the  poem  (w.  8-15).  Yet  enough  remains 
clear  to  give  us  a  priceless  memorial  of  Israel's  history  and  litera- 
ture. From  the  historians'  point  of  view  this  song  is  the 

1  Numbers   10s5.      With  the  Septuagint    the  last  word  is  omitted; 
this  does  not  affect  the  rime  of  the  second  and  third  lines,  since  the  added 
word  ends  with  the  same  sound  as  the  preceding,  eka.     The  final  words 
become  oyebheka  and  mesaneka. 

2  Numbers  10 36.      The  above  translation  rests  upon  a  fairly  probable 
emendation  of  the  text.     See  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.,  in  loc.;  Baentsch,  Hand- 
kommentar,  in  loc. 

3  Judges  5. 

c 


18  THE   LITERATURE    OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

most  important  document  for  the  formative  period  of  Israel.  It 
gives  a  fleeting,  yet  sharply  drawn  picture  of  the  conditions  in 
Palestine  after  the  Hebrew  tribes  had  obtained  possession  of  much 
of  the  central  mountain  ridge,  and  the  fertile  valley  still  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  earlier  inhabitants.1  A  Canaanite  king,  whom 
they  had  been  unable  to  overcome,  had  reduced  the  immigrant 
tribes  almost  to  despair.  They  were  disunited  and  disheartened. 

In  the  days  of  Shamgar  ben  Anath,  caravans  ceased, 
And  travellers  of  the  road  journeyed  in  crooked  by-paths. 
Was  there  seen  a  shield  or  a  spear 
Among  forty  thousand  in  Israel  ? 2 

In  this  crisis,  when  the  greatest  possible  effort  to  rally  the  tribes 
was  made,  the  Joseph  tribes,  Ephraim,  Benjamin,  Manasseh,3 
which  had  settled  on  the  hills  to  the  south  of  Esdraelon,  with 
Zebulun,  Issachar,  and  Naphtali  from  the  Galilean  hills  to  the 
north,  responded.  The  eastern  tribes  as  a  whole  abode  beyond 
the  Jordan  —  sat  "among  the  village  refuse  heaps"4 
To  hear  the  calling  of  the  flocks. 

The  northernmost  tribes,  Asher  and  Dan,  remained  amongst  their 
Phoenician  neighbors,  and  they  too  had  no  part  in  the  supreme 
effort  which  was  to  give  Israel  a  new  strength  in  the  land  and  to 
advance  the  tribes  far  toward  a  national  consciousness.  The 
Hebrews  who  lay  to  the  south  of  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim,  cut 
off  from  their  northern  kindred  by  the  ancient  stronghold  of 
Jebus,  are  not  even  mentioned  for  reproach;  that  Judah  and 
Simeon  should  come  to  a  fight  in  the  north  was  not  conceivable  at 
the  time.  Any  real  union  between  the  southern  and  northern 
tribes  was  a  later  matter  and  never  became  permanent.  The 
battle  cannot  be  followed  in  all  its  details;  the  verses  which 
describe  the  muster  (last  line  of  v.  11  through  first  three  lines 
of  15)  are  in  the  portion  of  the  poem  which  has  suffered  most. 
The  first  line  of  this  part, 

1  See  p.  6. 

2  Judges  5  6. 

3  Machir  (v.  14)  seems  to  be  used  here  for  Manasseh,  "of  which  tribe 
it  was  the  principal  branch."     See  Moore,  Judges,  Int.  Grit.  Com. ;  Barton, 
§  Israel,  Hastings  (1  vol.),  Bible  Dictionary. 

4  See  Moore,  Judges,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  in  loc.,  and  B.  D.  B.,  Heb.  Lex. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE          19 

Then  went  down  to  the  gates  the  people  of  Yahweh, 
apparently  anticipates  the  lines  that  follow,  in  which  the  coming 
down  from  the  hills  of  the  chieftains  with  the  various  tribes  seems 
to  have  been  recounted.  The  last  line  of  the  section  describes  the 
descent  of  the  Galilean  tribes  into  the  plain  as  an  impetuous  rush 
of  the  chieftains  upon  the  heels  of  Deborah  and  Barak.  Then 
follow  vituperations  upon  those  who  sat  at  home,  with  two  lines 
that  suggest  in  contrast  the  desperate  courage  with  which  Zebulun 
and  Naphtali  drove  the.  enemies  from  the  higher  ground  on  which 
they  tried  to  make  a  stand. 

Zebulun  a  people  that  scorned 1  its  life  to  the  death, 
Naphtali  too  upon  the  heights  of  the  open  field. 

The  song  turns  to  describe  briefly  the  muster  of  the  Canaanite 
kings  at  Tanaach,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  great  plain,  near 
the  upper  course  of  the  river  Kishon.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the 
light-armed  peasants  of  the  hills,  through  some  clever  strategy, 
led  the  Canaanites,  with  their  heavy  chariots,  into  the  hopeless 
mire  on  the  borders  of  the  stream  swollen  by  winter  rains,  even 
compelling  them  to  enter  the  river  so  that 

Torrent  Kishon  swept  them  off, 

or  whether  a  sudden  downpour  turned  the  plain  to  mire  and  so 
the  defeat  of  the  heavy-armed  Canaanites  became  easy.  This 
latter  has  been  the  usual  interpretation  from  ancient  times. 
Josephus,  writing  hi  the  first  century  A.D.,  is  able  to  tell  exactly 
how  it  happened.  "There  came  down  from  heaven  a  great  storm 
with  a  vast  quantity  of  ram  and  hail,  and  the  wind  blew  the  ram 
full  in  the  face  of  the  Canaanites,  and  so  darkened  their  eyes  that 
their  arrows  and  slings  were  of  little  or  no  advantage  to  them,  nor 
would  the  coldness  of  the  air  permit  the  soldiers  to  make  use  of 
their  swords;  (!)  while  this  storm  did  not  so  much  incommode 
the  Israelites  because  it  came  at  their  backs."2 

The  prose  version  of  the  story  (Judges  4)  was  preserved  in  an 
eighth-century  document  of  northern  Israel.  It  leaves  out  all 
explicit  reference  to  the  part  played  by  the  forces  of  nature  in  the 
battle:  Jehovah  discomfited  Sisera,  and  all  his  chariots,  and  all 


1  Literally,  reproached  or  taunted. 
1  Antiquities,  V,  5,  4. 


20  THE    LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

his  host,  with  the  edge  of  the  sword  before  Barak,  is  its  barren 
account.1  In  the  poem,  the  inhabitants  of  an  otherwise  unknown 
village,  Meroz,  past  which  presumably  the  fleeing  Sisera  made  his 
escape,  are  bitterly  cursed.  Alone,  the  fugitive  at  length  came  to 
a  Bedouin  tent,  where  he  fell  by  a  woman's  blow,  when  he  buried 
his  face  hi  the  large  bowl  of  curdled  milk  which  she  gave  him  in 
place  of  the  water  he  asked. 

The  prose  account,  while  it  may  hi  part  rest  upon  tradition 
independent  of  the  poem,  contains  many  inconsistencies  and  in 
general  must  be  counted  as  an  historical  source  far  inferior.  The 
poem,  hi  spite  of  the  obscurity  of  many  of  its  lines,  gives  a  remark- 
ably consistent  picture,  or  rather  series' of  pictures.2 

To  the  student  of  literature,  the  comparison  of  chapters  4  and  5 
is  of  especial  interest  as  an  early  example  of  the  inherent  differences 
between  prose  and  poetry.  The  poem  gives  the  really  vital 
points  in  luminous  pictures — the  desperate  condition  of  Israel, 
the  one  cry  that  could  unite  the  tribes  hi  uttermost  endeavor,  the 
part  played  in  the  battle  by  the  forces  of  nature,  the  wretched 
death  of  Sisera,  in  contrast  to  the  expected  victory  and  booty. 
These  are  the  elements  of  universal  human  interest.  Even  the 
almost  detailed  description  of  the  muster  has  its  significance; 
the  modern  poet  of  action  understood  this:  — 

Fast  as  the  fatal  symbol  flies, 

In  arms  the  tents  and  hamlets  rise.3 

Few  parts  of  Sir  Walter's  song  kindle  the  imagination  and  cling 
to  the  memory  more  effectively  than  "The  Gathering." 

The  prose  narrator  is  constrained  to  give  the  heroine  formal 
introduction  with  full  statement  of  her  recognized  standing  in 

1  Judges  4  1B. 

2  Moore  (Int.  Grit.  Com.)  inclines  to  the  view  "that  the  basis  of  chapter 
4  is  an  old  prose  story  of  Sisera."     McFadyen  (Intro.  O.  T.)  favors  the 
theory,  now  often  met,  that  Israel's  prose  narratives  of  the  earlier  centuries 
were  originally  in  poetic  form.     He  remarks,  d  propos  of  the  difference  in 
the  account  of  Sisera's  death  in  the  prose  and  poetic  forms,  that  "we 
see  the  risks  which  the  ballads  ran  when  turned  into  prose,"  and  further 
says  it  is  "natural  to  suppose  that  other  stories  in  the  book  of  Judges 
may  have  similarly  originated  in  war  ballads."     See  also  Kent,  Beginnings 
Heb.  Hist.,  pp.  15  f. 

3  Lady  of  the   Lake,  III,  xiv. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE          21 

Israel,  to  set  forth  the  preliminary  negotiations  with  Barak,  to 
tell  how  it  came  about  that  Heber  had  his  tent  in  the  road  of 
Sisera's  flight,  and  why  Sisera  turned  in  to  that  particular  tent. 
The  story  of  the  assassination  was  quite  too  simple  and  brief  for 
him  ;  it  was  necessary  to  have  the  victim  enter  and  make  arrange- 
ments for  concealment  from  his  pursuers.  Yet  the  details  are 
elaborate  only  in  comparison  with  the  poem ;  the  prose  account  is 
itself  ancient  and  so  objective ;  there  is  no  analysis  of  Jael's  motives, 
no  picturing  of  a  conflict  hi  her  soul. 

That  which  Professor  Moulton  styles  the  "lyric  device  of  in- 
terruption" is  also  conspicuous  in  the  poem,  in  contrast  to  the 
chronological  movement  of  the  prose.  A  refrain,  a  prelude,  "and 
a  long  apostrophe  are  interposed  before  the  narrative  even  com- 
mences." x 

While  we  cannot  find  any  rigid  structure  in  this  early  victory 
ode,  we  may  trace  the  general  divisions  of  the  song,  with  their 
dramatic  contrasts  and  sudden  and  effective  changes  of  rhythm. 
The  ode  begins :  — 

For  the  leading  of  the  leaders  in  Israel, 
For  that  the  people  offered  themselves, 
Bless  ye  Yahweh. 

Hear,  ye  kings ;  give  ear,  ye  rulers : 

I,  to  Yahweh,  I  will  sing, 

Sing  praise  to  Yahweh  God  of  Israel. 

This  is  followed  by  a  splendid  theophany,  the  type  of  many  similar 
descriptions  of  the  majestic  approach  of  Him  who  revealed  himself 
hi  the  storm  clouds;  who  ever  came  for  the  deliverance  of  his 
people,  from  the  wilderness  where  they  had  covenanted  together.2 

1  Literary  Study  of  Bible,  p.  131.     For  Professor  Moid  ton's  full  discus- 
sion, see  pp.  130  ff.     His  division  of  the  poem  into  strophe  and  antistrophe 
for  antiphonal  performance  by  male  and  female  choruses,  led  respectively 
by  Barak  and  Deborah,   does  not  commend  itself.     The  historian  of 
Semitic  literature  must  often  dissent  from  the  tendency  among  students 
of  late  literature  to  attribute  elaborate,  rigid  structure,  characteristic  of 
classical   and   modern   poetry,   to   ancient   Semitic   song.     The   ancient 
culture  peoples  did  indeed  develop  rigid  conventions,  but  they  were  their 
own. 

2  It  was  a  century  after  Solomon  built  his  splendid  house  for  Jehovah 
to  dwell  in  that,  at  the  hour  of  his  loneliness  and  desolation,  the  great 


22  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

In  our  poem,  six  lines  suffice  for  the  picture :  — 

Yahweh,  in  thy  going  forth  from  Seir, 
In  thy  march  from  the  field  of  Edom, 
Earth  shook  and  heavens  poured  down, 
Yea  clouds  poured  down  water. 
Mountain  torrents  flowed  before  Yahweh, 
Before  Yahweh  God. of  Israel. 

The  words  and  metre  in  the  Hebrew  strike  short  and  sharp,  a 
quick  but  crashing  step,  for  the  march  of  the  strong  deliverer 
from  Edom.  Then  the  measure  changes  from  lines  of  three  and 
four  beats  to  the  long  five-beat  rhythm,  with  the  suggestion  of  the 
division  of  the  long  line  into  parts  of  three  and  two  beats.  At  a 
later  era  this  type  of  line  will  be  used  in  the  finished  elegy.  The 
scene  is  of  the  silence  of  death ;  the  highways  are  deserted ;  the 
only  travellers  skulk  noiselessly  through  the  by-paths. 

In  the  days  of  Shamgar  ben-Anath,  caravans  ceased, 
And  travellers  of  the  road  journeyed  in  crooked  by-paths. 
Hamlets  ceased  in  Israel,  they  ceased.1 

The  dirge-like  tone  is  quickly  interrupted  by  sharp  trimeters 

Until  thou  arose,  0  Deborah, 
Thou  arose,  a  matron  in  Israel.2 

The  next  two  lines  are  very  uncertain,  but  the  following  couplet 
shows  that  they  must  have  continued  the  description  of  Israel's 
sad  estate  before  the  great  battle.  The  text  of  the  next  nine 
lines  has  suffered  so  severely  that  discussion  is  fruitless.  The 
section  seems  to  close,  as  the  poem  opened,  with  a  summons  to 
serve  Jehovah.  The  fine  muster  scene  follows  with  its  praise  and 
scorn ;  then  the  battle.  The  measure  becomes  short  and  sharp, 
somewhat  as  in  the  earlier  description  of  Jehovah's  advance. 

Elijah  went,  not  to  the  temple,  but  the  long  journey  back  to  Horeb,  to 
meet  God  in  his  ancient  mountain.  Long  after  that,  when  the  temple 
had  become  fully  established  as  the  dwelling-place  of  Jehovah,  the  poets 
continued  to  picture  him  as.  coming  from  Sinai  in  the  glory  of  the  moun- 
tain-bred storm. 

1  Moore's  translation  of  the  last  line. 

2  It  seems  preferable  to  translate  these  verbs  as  second  rather  than 
first  person;    the  Hebrew  permits,  and  the  lines  are  thus  brought  into 
accord  with  v.  12.     See  Moore,  Judges,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  in  loc. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE          23 

Kings  came,  they  fought, 
Then  the  Kings  of  Canaan  fought ; 
In  Tanaak  by  Megiddo's  waters. 
Prey  of  silver  they  took  not. 

After  this  last  line  with  its  unexpected  "sarcastic  meiosis,"  the 
thought  turns  to  the  heavenly  bodies  that  contended  against  Sisera : 
the  staccato  movement  of  the  verse  is  varied  by  two  polysyllabic 
lines:  — 

From  heaven  the  planets  engaged  in  battle, 
From  their  courses  engaged  in  battle  with  Sisera. 

From  these  lines  of  eleven  syllables,  hi  the  original,  we  come 

down  to  the  quick  action  of  the  field.     A  six-syllable  line  tells  how 

Torrent  Kishon  swept  them  off. 

The  next  two  lines  are  hi  part  doubtful.  When  we  catch  the  full 
meaning  again,  we  hear  the  retreating  hoof-beats  of  such  of  the 
horses  as  have  brought  their  Canaanite  masters  through  to  the 
hard  plain. 

Then  smote  horse  hoof-beats, 

From  the  gallop,  galloping  of  his  steeds.1 

The  last  line  seems  to  be  onomatopoetic  hi  its  repetition  daharoth, 
daharoth.  Certainly  later  Hebrew  writers  were  only  less  skilful 
in  sound  imitation  than  Homer  himself ,  and  we  may  find  a  sugges- 
tion of  it  hi  the  earliest  great  poem  of  Israel.2 

Apparently  the  retreat  leads  past  the  hamlet  of  Meroz,  for  now 
the  sound  of  the  galloping  horses  is  drowned  in  the  poet's  curse 
of  the  coward  town. 

Curse  ye  Meroz,  saith  the  messenger  of  Yahweh ; 

Curse  with  a  curse  its  inhabitants. 
For  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  Yahweh, 

To  the  help  of  Yahweh  among  the  brave. 

With  a  contrasted  blessing  upon  Jael,  the  poem  passes  quickly  to 
the  scene  at  the  tent-door  where  Sisera  meets  his  death. 

1  Adopting  Moore's  happy  translation  of  the  last  line. 

2  The  word  translated  gallop  is  used  only  once  elsewhere,  and  then  it  is 
in  Nahum's  wonderful  description  of  the  utter  confusion  in  Nineveh's 
last  siege. 

Sound  of  whip,  and  sound  of  rattling  wheel, 
And  galloping  horse,  and  bounding  chariot. 


24  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Most  blessed  of  women  be  Jael, 

Most  blessed  of  nomad  women  be.1 

Water  he  asked,  milk  she  gave  ; 

She  brought  him  leban  in  a  royal  dish. 

Her  hand  to  the  helve  she  reaches  out, 

Her  right  hand  to  the  heavy  hammer.2 

Yea  she  strikes,  crushes  his  head ; 

She  smites,  strikes  through  his  temple. 

Between  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell,  lay  prone, 

Where  he  bowed,  there  he  fell,  slain. 

The  last  scene  changes  from  the  lonely  tent  to  the  lonelier  palace 
that  was  Sisera's. 

Through  the  window  she  looked  and  strident  cried, 

The  mother  of  Sisera,  through  the  lattice. 

Why  delays  his  chariotry  in  coming  ? 

Why  tarry  the  hoof -beats  of  his  chariots  ? 

Her  prudent  princesses  answer  her, 

Yea  she  returns  answer  to  herself : 

Are  they  not  finding,  dividing  spoil  ? 

A  damsel,  two  damsels  to  every  man, 

A  spoil  of  dyed  stuffs  for  Sisera, 

A  spoil  of  dyed  stuffs  embroidered.3 

So  shall  all  thine  enemies  perish,  0  Yahweh, 

But  his  friends  be  as  the  rising  sun  in  his  strength. 

Had  we  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Yahweh,  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  Numbers  21,  it  may  be  that  we  should  have  many  early 
songs  comparable  to  this ;  but  we  count  ourselves  fortunate  that 
this  one  has  been  preserved  from  these  early  days  of  fierce  struggle 
for  the  possession  of  Canaan's  fertile  plain  and  hill,  when  the  clans 
united  in  Jehovah's  name.4 

1  For  the  omission  of  "the  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite,"  see  Kittel,  Bib. 
Heb.,  in  loc.;  Moore,  Judges,  in  loc. 

2  The  parallelism  and  the  possibility  of  the  action  described  make  it 
highly  probable  that  the  "pin"  and  the  instrument  named  in  the  next 
line  stand  for  one  and  the  same  tool  or  weapon ;  hammer  is  as  plausible 
a  translation  as  any.     "Heavy"  is  adopted  as  the  possible  meaning,  by  a 
metonomy  which  Moore  suggests,  but  does  not  himself  adopt.     For  dis- 
cussion of  the  great  difficulties  of  the  passage,  see  Moore,  Judges,  in  loc. 

3  Next  line  uncertain. 

4  Aside  from  Beowulf,  fifty  lines  of  Finnsburh,  and  two  shorter  frag- 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  25 

Note  on  the  Form  of  Hebrew  Poetry 

In  the  foregoing  discussion,  references  have  been  made  to  the 
changing  harmony  of  sound  and  thought  in  these  brief  remains  of 
early  Hebrew  song.  That  the  Hebrew  language  itself  is  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  express  the  "action,  imagery,  and  passion"  of 
poetry  was  effectively  maintained  in  the  eighteenth  century  by 
the  poet  Herder.1  Quoting  Lessing's  words  concerning  Homer, 
that  "in  him  all  is  bustle,  motion,  action,"  Herder  emphasized  the 
prominence  of  verbs  hi  the  Hebrew  and  the  fact  that  the  nouns, 
remaining  very  nearly  related  to  them,  "are  still  active  agents 
and  exhibit  a  continual  personification."  In  the  lack  of  true 
adjectives  he  found  the  qualities  of  a  subject  assuming  the  form 
of  distinct  individual  agents;  the  very  objects  themselves  are 
seized  upon  and  almost  always  with  some  mark  of  emotion  or 
passion.  The  sensuous  form  and  the  sensation  or  sentiment  that 
it  produces  are  combined.  Herder  even  found  poetic  advantage 
in  the  absence  of  a  tense  system,  since  to  poetry  all  is  present. 
Certainly  it  is  true  that  the  poetic  advantages  possessed  by  rela- 
tively simple  and  primitive  languages  are  very  manifest  in  the 
Hebrew;  abstract  terms  it  hardly  knows,  and  few  words  have 
gone  far  from  their  root  meanings.  When  such  meanings  have 
been  extended,  it  is  often  through  some  quaint  and  childlike  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  by  which  the  picturesque  qualities  of  the  words 
are  enhanced  rather  than  lost. 

How  far  the  Hebrew  poetry  was  characterized  by  what  would 
seem  to  us  true  musical  rhythm  is  a  subject  long  discussed  and, 
in  recent  years,  more  keenly  than  ever.  The  Jews  themselves 
have  preserved  no  reliable  tradition  of  metres.  Josephus,  it  is 
true,  spoke  of  the  Miriam  song  (Exodus  15)  as  composed  in 
"hexameter  verse,"  of  the  "Blessing  of  Moses"  (Deuteronomy  32) 
as  a  "hexameter  poem,"  and  made  the  general  statement  that 
David  "composed  songs  and  hymns  to  God  of  several  sorts  of 
metre,"  some  "trimeters,"  some  "pentameters."2  Even  if  these 

merits  of  Waldhere,  the  early  national  epic  poetry  of  England  is  gone. 
See  Cambridge  Hist.  Eng.  Lit.,  I,  p.  34. 

1  J.  G.  Herder,  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  first  published  1782. 

1  Antiquities,  II,  xvi,  4  ;  IV,  viii,  44  ;  VII,  xii,  3. 


26  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

remarks  should  be  accepted  as  representing  a  living  tradition  in 
the  first  century  A.D.,  this  was  lost  before  the  time  of  our  earliest 
Hebrew  manuscript,  and  it  is  impossible  to  determine  to-day 
what  Josephus  meant  by  these  metres  as  applicable  to  Hebrew 
poetry.  We  suspect  that  he  would  have  been  hard  put  to  it  to 
explain.  He  was  writing  in  Greek  and  seeking  to  make  the  ancient 
culture  of  his  people  intelligible  and  respected  in  the  Graeco- 
Roman  world.  Probably  he  meant  Greek  hexametres  and  not  any 
true  Semitic  metre.  His  views  may  have  had  as  firm  a  basis  in 
facts  as  Philo's  statements  that  Moses  was  instructed  by  Greek 
tutors  and  learned  "the  whole  science  of  rhythm  and  harmony  and 
metre." x 

In  the  early  Middle  Ages,  Jewish  students  invented  a  highly 
elaborate  system  of  vocalizing,  accenting,  and  punctuating  their 
ancient  language,  which  had  hitherto  been  written  in  a  conso- 
nantal text.  How  nearly  the  pronunciation,  which  thus  became 
artificially  fixed  about  600  A.D.,  resembled  that  of  the  centuries 
when  Hebrew  was  a  living  language,  it  is  impossible  to  decide. 
Long  ere  this  time  the  Jewish  people  had  ceased  to  think  of  their 
ancient  writings  as  literature,  and  the  indication  of  the  pronuncia- 
tion was  for  use  in  the  synagogue  services. 

The  tradition  of  the  text  has  preserved  a  few  traces  of  the 
stichometric  structure  of  the  ancient  poetry;  a  few  poems 
occurring  in  the  prose  books  are  written  in  distinct  lines 
separated  by  spaces.2  .  The  text  itself  attests  more  clearly  the 
division  of  poetry  into  lines  in  the  case  of  the  alphabetic  poems, 
of  which  a  number  exist.  Lamentations  3  is  a  particularly  exact 
specimen  —  each  of  the  first  three  lines  begins  with  Aleph,  of  the 
next  three  with  Beth,  and  so  throughout  the  sixty-six  lines  and 
twenty-two  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  In  Lamentations  1 
and  2  every  third  line  is  thus  marked,  and  in  4,  every  second  line. 

1  Life  of  Moses,  I,  5.     Distinct  metre  is  not  found  in  Hebrew  poetry 
before  the  mediaeval  Jewish  poets  of  North  Africa,   Italy,   Spain,  and 
France. 

2  Exodus  15  1'19,  Deuteronomy  32  l-*,  2  Samuel  22  and  its  duplicate 
Psalm  18.     The  different  mode  of  chanting  these  poetic  sections  in  the 
orthodox  synagogues  from  the  usual  chant  of  prose  affords  further  tradi- 
tional evidence. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  27 

Psalm  119  is  printed  in  the  Revised  Version  in  twenty-two  groups 
of  eight  distichs  each,  with  a  letter  of  the  alphabet  at  the  head  of 
each  group.  In  the  Hebrew,  each  couplet  of  the  group  begins 
with  the  letter  thus  indicated.  These  and  other  alphabetic  poems 
give  a  starting-point  for  a  study  of  the  structure  of  Hebrew  verse. 
Rime,  of  which  examples  have  been  noted,  does  not  occur  with 
sufficient  regularity  to  offer  much  aid  in  determining  the  lines, 
but  the  stichometric  structure  is  clearly  established  by  the  means 
already  noted.  Correspondence  of  grammatical  structure  with 
these  occasional  indications  gives  confirmation,  if  any  were  needed, 
and  serves  to  indicate  unmistakable  division  where  other  criteria 
are  lacking.  Each  line  of  Hebrew  poetry  is  regularly  a  logical 
unity  with  a  distinct  break  in  the  thought  at  its  end;  "run  over 
lines,"  not  uncommon  in  poetry  that  has  clear  divisions  into  bars 
or  feet,  were  not  in  vogue  in  the  poetry  of  ancient  Israel.  In  the 
King  James  version,  no  attempt  was  made  to  divide  into  lines, 
yet  the  English  frequently  shows  a  semicolon  or  stronger  punctua- 
tion at  the  end  of  each  Hebrew  line. 

A  logical  relation  between  adjacent  lines  had  been  recognized, 
but  not  commonly  emphasized  until  Bishop  Lowth  delivered  and 
published  his  Oxford  lectures  De  sacra  poesi  Hebrceorum  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  used  the  happy  term 
parallelismus  membrorum  to  express  the  relationship  which  has 
since  been  generally  recognized  as  the  most  characteristic  element 
of  the  form  of  Hebrew  poetry.  The  lines  concerning  Heshbon  and 
Moab  may  serve  to  illustrate  rigid  and  simple  parallelism.  There 
are  five  couplets,  each  made  up  of  synonymous  lines :  — 

Come  ye  to  Heshbon  !    Let  it  be  built ! 

And  let  Sihon's  city  be  established  ! 

When  fire  went  out  from  Heshbon, 

Flame  from  Sihon's  burgh : 

It  devoured  Ar  of  Moab ; 

It  consumed  the  heights  of  Arnon,  etc. 

As  Professor  Moulton  has  suggested,1  the  rhythmical  effect  of 
parallelism  may  be  appreciated  by  reading,  in  contrast,  the  lines 
with  the  alternating  parallel  lines  omitted. 

1  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible,  p.  47. 


28  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Balancing  of  clauses  is  a  familiar  device  of  oratory,  and 
parallelism  appears  sporadically  in  various  poetry,  but  as  a  dis- 
tinctive poetic  form,  it  is  known  only  among  the  closely  inter- 
related peoples  of  southwestern  Asia  and  northeastern  Africa. 
Examples  are  numerous  in  the  literature  of  Egypt  and  Babylonia. 
One  of  the  most  famous  of  Egyptian  songs  will  illustrate : *  — 

How  beautiful  is  this  righteous  prince  ! 

The  beautiful  destiny  is  fulfilled. 

The  bodies  pass  away  since  the  time  of  R6, 

And  the  younger  ones  step  into  their  places. 

The  sun  reappears  each  morning, 

And  the  evening  sun  sets  in  the  west. 

Men  are  begetting,  women  are  conceiving, 

Every  nostril  breathes  the  breath  of  the  morning. 

But  those  who  are  born  there,  all  together, 

They  go  to  the  place,  which  is  ordained  for  them. 

Celebrate  a  joyful  day,  O  priest ! 

Place  oils  and  sweet  odors  for  thy  nostril. 

Wreaths  of  lotus  flowers  for  the  limbs, 

For  the  body  of  thy  sister,  who  dwells  in  thy  heart, 

Who  sits  beside  thee. 

Let  there  be  music  and  singing  before  thee, 

Cast  behind  thee  all  cares,  and  mind  thee  of  joy. 

In  the  Babylonian  penitential  psalms,  repetition  of  parallel 
lines,  with  little  or  no  progress  of  thought,  is  carried  to  great 
weariness :  — 

The  lord  has  looked  upon  me  in  the  rage  of  his  heart, 

A  god  has  visited  me  in  his  wrath, 

A  goddess  has  become  angry  with  me  and  brought  me  into  pain, 

A  known  or  unknown  god  has  oppressed  me, 

A  known  or  unknown  goddess  has  brought  sorrow  upon  me. 

I  seek  for  help,  but  no  one  takes  my  hand. 

I  weep,  but  no  one  approaches  me. 

I  call  aloud,  but  no  one  hears  me. 

Full  of  woe,  I  grovel  in  the  dust  without  looking  up. 

To  my  merciful  god  I  turn,  speaking  with  sighs. 

The  feet  of  my  goddess  I  kiss  imploringly  ( ?), 

1  This  version  is  taken  from  the  tomb  of  the  priest  Neferhotep.  Erman, 
Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  387. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  29 

To  the  known  or  unknown  god  do  I  speak  with  sighs, 

To  the  known  or  unknown  goddess  do  I  speak  with  sighs. 

0  lord,  look  upon  me,  accept  my  lament, 

0  goddess,  look  upon  me,  accept  my  lament. 

O  known  or  unknown  goddess,  look  upon  me,  accept  my  lament! 1 

In  the  Babylonian  Creation  Epic  the  tendency  to  parallelism 
may  be  seen :  — 

When  in  the  height,  heaven  was  not  yet  named, 

And  the  earth  beneath  bore  no  name ; 

While  still  the  primeval  Apsu,  who  begot  them, 

And  raging  Tiamat,  who  brought  forth  both, 

Mingled  their  waters  together ; 

When  no  field  was  yet  found,  no  marsh  was  seen ; 

When  none  of  the  gods  had  yet  been  called  into  being, 

No  name  mentioned,  no  fate  determined, 

Then  were  the  gods  created.2 

Lowth  distinguished  three  forms  of  parallelism  —  synonymous, 
antithetic,  and  synthetic.  If  one  insists  on  finding  strict  relation- 
ship among  all  the  lines  in  Hebrew  poetry,  he  will  be  forced  to 
stretch  the  last  category  very  wide.  At  best  in  "synthetic" 
parallelism,  in  which  the  second  member  is  required  to  complete 
the  sense  of  the  first,  the  harmony  extends  hardly  beyond 
grammatical  structure,  and  frequently  even  this  relation  is  not 
discoverable.  Often  "a  comparison,  a  reason,  a  consequence, 
a  motive,  constitutes  one  of  the  lines  in  a  synthetic  parallelism.3 

At  least  one  other  distinguishable  form  is  so  frequently  met  and 
so  effective  that  it  should  be  noted.  This  Driver  calls  "  climactic," 
and  others  have  styled  "ascending  rhythm."4  In  this  form  of 
parallelism,  which  is  especially  suited  to  the  most  elevated  themes, 
the  second  line  catches  up  and  repeats  a  part  of  the  preceding,  and 
then  adds  to  it.  We  have  had  an  example  in  the  description  of 
Jehovah's  approach  in  the  Deborah  Song:  — 

Earth  shook  and  heavens  dropped, 
Yea,  clouds  dropped  water. 

1  Jastrow,  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p.  321. 

2  Kent,  Beginnings  Heb.  Hist.,  p.  363. 
*  Driver,  Intro.  Lit.  O.  T.,  p.  363. 

4  Driver,  op.  cit.,  p.  363. 


30  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Mountain  torrents  flowed  before  Yahweh, 
Before  Yahweh,  God  of  Israel.1 

Where  rigid  structure  at  first  sight  seems  lacking,  the  parallelism 
sometimes  proves  to  be  of  a  highly  complicated  form,  alternating, 
introverted,  etc.  Unlike  true  metre,  this  "thought  rhythm,"  as 
it  is  often  called,  is  not  entirely  lost  in  translation,  though  the 
similarity  of  the  length  of  lines  in  the  original  is  often  quite 
obscured;  one  Hebrew  word  may  require  three  or  four  English 
words  for  its  translation.  As  Gardiner  says,  speaking  of  the  King 
James  version,  "The  men  who  made  our  translation  did  not 
attempt  to  arrange  the  lines  in  a  different  form  from  the  prose  of 
the  rest  of  the  book.  The  result  has  been  in  English  to  produce 
a  kind  of  writing  unique  hi  our  literature,  since  it  is  neither  regular 
prose  nor  regular  poetry,  but  shares  the  power  of  both.  It  has  the 
strong  balance  and  regularity  which  result  from  this  underlying 
parallel  structure  of  the  Hebrew,  and  at  the  same  time  all  the 
freedom  and  naturalness  of  prose."2  This  quality  is  certainly 
most  excellent  hi  poetry  which  hundreds  must  read  in  translation 
for  each  individual  who  reads  it  hi  the  original.  Not  all  of  us 
will  be  ready  to  go  on  and  declare  it  in  fact  a  thoroughly  satisfac- 
tory poetic  form,  in  comparison  with  true  metre.  Professor 
McFadyen  seems  rather  enthusiastic  when  he  says  of  parallelism : 
"It  suggests  a  rhythm  profounder  than  the  sound  of  any  words 
—  the  response  of  thought  to  thought,  the  calling  of  deep  to  deep, 
the  solemn  harmonies  that  run  through  the  universe." 8 

Perhaps  Josephus  was  too  much  influenced  by  Greek  poetic  forms 
in  his  ascription  of  metre  to  Hebrew  poetry ;  yet  there  have  been 
many  in  recent  centuries  who  have  not  rested  satisfied  with 
"thought  rhythm"  and  have  persistently  tried  to  find  a  system 
of  true  metre  in  the  Hebrew  and  kindred  poetry. 

The  earlier  efforts  to  recover  Hebrew  metre,  in  the  seventeenth 
and  early  eighteenth  centuries,  were  chiefly  based  on  classical 
models.4  Lowth  saw  their  unsatisfactoriness  and  thought  it 
unpractical  to  work  out  any  definite  system,  because  of  our  lack 

1  Cf .  Psalm  29  '•  8 ;  Exodus  15  »». 

*  Gardiner,  The  Bible  as  English  Literature,  p.  109. 

•  McFadyen,  Intro,  to  O.  T.,  p.  238. 

4  Briggs,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  Psalms  I,  pp.  xxxviii-xxxix. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  31 

of  knowledge  of  the  original  pronunciation.1  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century  (1776)  the  rules  of  Arabic  metre,  which, 
like  the  classical,  is  quantitative,  were  applied  to  Hebrew  poetry. 
At  the  same  tune  hi  publications  on  Hebrew  metre  (1770)  and  the 
Psalms  (1780),  C.  G.  Anton  made  accent  the  determining  principle 
of  measurement.  In  other  respects  few  would  follow  him  to-day, 
but  hi  this  vital  point  his  "conjecture,"  as  he  called  it,2  seems  in 
accord  with  the  character  of  the  Hebrew.  Accent  is  dominant, 
as  the  language  is  known  to  us ;  a  short  vowel  cannot  stand  in  an 
unaccented  open  syllable,  while  a  long  vowel  in  an  open  syllable, 
by  the  shifting  of  the  tone,  may  become  a  mere  half  vowel,  barely 
pronounced. 

No  real  advance  over  the  eighteenth  century  was  made  until  the 
latter  part  of  the  nineteenth,  when  various  students  took  up  the 
problem  of  Hebrew  metre  with  new  energy  and  equipment.  One 
tried  to  apply  the  principle  of  Syriac  poetry,  hi  which  the  metrical 
system  is  determined  by  the  counting  of  the  syllables.3  In  his 
view,  there  was  a  constant  alternation  of  rise  and  fall,  so  that 
only  iambic  and  trochaic  feet  were  possible.  The  comparison 
with  Syriac,  like  that  with  Arabic  poetry,  has  the  advantage  of 
keeping  within  the  same  family  of  languages  as  the  Hebrew,  but 
both  Syriac  and  Arabic  poetry  are  post-Christian,  and  it  has 
recently  been  "shown  that  the  earliest  even  of  the  Syriac  poetry 
did  not  measure  by  number  of  syllables." 4  More  recently,  Sievers, 
who  has  done  much  on  Teutonic  metres,  working  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  laws  of  speech  and  song,  rather  than  from  a  knowl- 
edge of  Semitic  languages,  has  wrought  out  an  astonishing  system, 
finding  everywhere  a  sort  of  anapestic  foot,  two  unaccented 
syllables  of  any  length  followed  by  a  long  accented.  This  system 
involves  both  quantity  and  accent,  but  it  is  forced  to  reject  the 
traditional  pronunciation  and  to  invent  a  new  one  devised  to  fit 
the  scheme.  Even  so,  as  Cornill  points  out,  Sievers  gets  no 
orderly  system  in  the  number  of  verse  feet  hi  successive  lines. 

1  Lowth,  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  p.  33. 

z  Conjectura  de  metro  Hebrceorum,  1770,  Specimen  editionis  Psalmorum, 
1780. 

3  G.  Bickell,  various  publications,  187&-1884. 

4  Briggs,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  Psalms  I,  p.  xxxix. 


32  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Follow  him,  and  one  may  prove  any  prose  narrative  poetry,  as 
Sievers's  own  publications  indicate.1  Very  few  Semitic  scholars 
have  found  his  arguments  convincing. 

In  the  same  period  the  now  generally  dominant  theory  has 
been  developed  by  a  succession  of  workers.  In  a  series  of  publi- 
cations extending  from  1866  to  1887,  Julius  Ley  revived  Anton's 
view  that  accent  was  the  determining  principle  in  Hebrew  metre. 
He  maintained  that  the  number  of  unaccented  syllables  did  not 
count  and  that  the  metre  was  determined  solely  by  the  number  of 
ictus.  In  1882  Karl  Budde  published2  a  careful  study  of  the 
Hebrew  Qina  or  elegiac  verse.3  He  showed  that  wherever  there 
is  a  song  of  lamentation4  there  is  a  tendency  to  a  verse  form  made 
up  of  a  longer  followed  by  a  shorter  member.  Commonly  the  first 
member  has  three  accents  and  the  second  two ;  and  between  the 
members  there  is  a  decided  csesura.  The  number  of  unaccented 
syllables  in  these  comparatively  regular  units  is  exceedingly 
variable.  This  evidence  points  strongly  toward  the  contention  of 
Ley  that  only  stresses  counted  in  the  metrical  system.  More 
recently  it  has  been  strongly  argued  by  Zimmern  and  Gunkel  that 
Old  Babylonian  poetry  possessed  an  accentuating  metrical  system 
based  on  the  equal  value  of  the  accentual  rises.  The  same  seems 
to  have  been  true  hi  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  poetry. 

A  theory  of  morce  published  in  1896-1897  5  arrived  at  a  more 
exact  quantitative  law,  but  was  forced  to  distinguish  syllables  of 
the  values  of  4,  3,  and  2  morce.  Like  Sievers's  even  more  recent 
theory,  this  seems  too  artificial,  and  the  vast  majority  of  students 
to-day  rest  in  the  conviction  that  hi  ancient  Hebrew  poetry  the 
accents  alone  counted.  As  the  poetry  has  come  down  to  us 
often  imperfectly  preserved,  even  these  are  so  irregular  that 
frequently  the  text  must  be  emended,  or  we  must  say  we  can  dis- 
cover only  a  tendency  toward  regular  arrangements  of  the  number 
of  ictus. 

1  E.  Sievers,  Studien  zur  hebrdischen  Metrik,  1901,  etc. 

2  Zeitschrift  fur  Altetestamentliche  Wissenschaft. 

3  A  general  statement  of  Budde's  views  is  given  in  §  Poetry,  in  Hastings, 
Diet,  of  the  Bible,  Vol.  III. 

4  Hebrew  Qina. 

5  H.  Grimme  in  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  L,  pp.  529  ff.,  LI,  pp.  683  fif. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HEBREW  LITERATURE  33 

If  the  actual  pronunciation  of  the  living  Hebrew  was  as  free  in 
its  variations  of  time  as  Sidney  Lanier  holds  English  to  be,  and 
if  poetry  must  be  divisible  into  feet  of  exact  time  equivalence, 
then  we  may  suppose  that  the  accents  were  made  to  fall  at  regular 
time  intervals  in  the  pronunciation  of  Hebrew  poetry.  In  that 
case  the  discrimination  of  half  vowels,  full  short  vowels,  and  long 
vowels  made  in  our  Hebrew  text  must  be  far  indeed  from  repre- 
senting true  time  relations  in  the  original  pronunciation  of  the 
poetry.1  Probably,  too,  other  syllables  than  those  now  accented 
must  have  received  the  tone,  but  one  may  well  remember  in  this 
connection,  that  our  knowledge  of  many  of  the  long  vowels  goes 
back  into  the  consonantal  text  of  the  Hebrew,  and  so  is  early. 

In  its  parallelism,  Hebrew  poetry  followed,  as  we  have  noted, 
a  form  already  long  used  in  Babylon  and  Egypt,  which  countries 
had  successively  dominated  Syria  for  many  centuries  before 
Israel  found  settlement  among  the  Canaanites.  The  evidence  thus 
far  attainable  seems  to  show  that  in  metrical  structure,  too,  the 
poetry  of  the  three  was  similar.  More  elaborate  systems  of 
Hebrew  metre,  such  as  those  of  Sievers  or  Grimme,  involving  as 
they  do  disregard  of  the  earliest  pronunciation  of  the  language 
which  we  possess,  will  probably  continue  to  be  rejected  by  most 
students  of  Semitic  literature  and  to  commend  themselves  only  to 
those  who  approach  the  subject  with  fixed  convictions  based  upon 
later  forms  of  poetry  and  music.2 

1  It  is  true  that  in  the  later  Jewish  poetry,  which  had  adopted  metrical 
form,  half  vowels  were  often  counted  as  forming  full  syllables. 

2  It  is  generally  held  that  Anglo-Saxon  poetry  and  the  ancient  German 
two-membered  alliterative  verse  were  measured  by  the  number  of  ac- 
cented syllables,  without  regard  to  the  unaccented.    The  ancient  Latin 
Saturnian  metre  may  have  been  of  the  same  form.    Until  it  can  be  shown 
that  these  later  verse  forms  had  a  more  exact  metrical  structure,  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  this  will  be  established  in  the  case  of  ancient  Semitic 
poetry. 

For  Anglo-Saxon  see  Saintsbury,  History  of  English  Prosody;  for  the 
German,  Budde,  §  Poetry,  Hastings,  Diet.  Bible;  for  this  theory  of  Latin, 
Duff,  Literary  History  of  Rome,  pp.  74-75. 


CHAPTER  III 

POETRY   OF  THE   UNITED   KINGDOM 

(About  1040  to  940  B.C.) 

AFTER  the  Deborah  song,  no  contemporary  poem  that  connects 
itself  with  definite  historical  events  embodies  Israel's  experience 
until  generations  have  passed.  The  succeeding  years  witnessed 
harassing  struggles  between  the  Hebrew  tribes  and  others  who 
desired  to  possess  Canaan,  or  to  plunder  its  inhabitants ;  but  the 
next  life-and-death  struggle  was  with  a  people  which  had  settled 
on  the  western  coast  plain  at  almost  the  same  time  that  Israel 
crossed  the  Jordan  and  overran  the  central  mountains.  This 
people,  the  Philistines,  left  its  name  on  the  country  which  we  call 
Palestine.  In  the  days  of  Amos,  about  750  B.C.,  the  Philistines 
were  still  counted  an  immigrant  people,  come  from  Caphtor.1 
They  are  supposed  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  peoples  from  the 
northern  shores  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  who  pushed 
southward,  on  land  and  water,  during  the  twelfth  century  B.C., 
pressed  from  behind  by  those  great  movements  in  Europe  that 
brought  the  Dorians  into  Greece.  They  sought  foothold  in  the 
Egyptian  Delta,  but  were  driven  back  by  the  Pharaoh,  and  a  part 
of  the  receding  wave  found  settlement  on  the  coast  plain  of  Canaan. 

The  Philistines  have  left  no  written  records  to  tell  through  what 
struggles  and  defeats  they  learned  the  vital  lesson  of  united  action. 
From  Israel's  experience  with  them,  it  would  seem  that  they  were 
ever  able  to  act  together  effectively,  though  they  dwelt  in  separate 
city  states,  with  different  kings.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it 
is  evident  from  the  earliest  strand  of  narrative  preserved  in  Samuel 2 
that  they  eventually  succeeded  in  reducing  the  disunited  tribes  of 
Israel  to  a  state  of  subjection  similar  to  that  of  the  days  of 

1  Crete  ?     Amos  9  7. 

2  For  the  contents  and  character  of  this  strand,  see  below,  oh.  IV. 

34 


POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  35 

Shamgar-ben-Anath.  Now,  however,  Israel  had  the  precious 
memory  of  a  day  when  her  clans  had  united  hi  Jehovah's  name, 
and  thrown  off  the  oppressor's  yoke. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  there  appeared  in  the 
land  bands  of  religious  enthusiasts  going  about  with  music  and 
song  and,  hi  sympathetic  connection  with  them,  a  seer  whose 
keen  eyes  had  perceived  that  the  time  was  ripening  for  a  great 
struggle  for  independence.  This  one  was  evidently  watching  for 
the  born  leader  about  whom  the  enthusiasm  of  the  hour  might 
crystallize  into  effective  action.  One  day  there  came  to  his  door 
a  man  of  giant  stature  and  simple  heart,  searching  with  persistent 
zeal  for  his  father's  lost  asses.  In  the  unawakened  soul  there  was 
slumbering  power  —  capacity  for  new  and  consuming  enthusiasm 
and  for  instantaneous  action.  Samuel  the  seer  recognized  his 
man  in  Saul-ben-Kish.  There  must  be  the  awakening;  dogged 
devotion  to  the  home  interests  must  be  tunned  into  larger  channels. 
The  conspicuous  honor  showed  at  the  village  sacrificial  feast,  where 
the  seer  presided,  the  secret  anointing  hi  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
the  charge  to  do  as  occasion  should  serve,  the  predicted  meetings, 
culminating  hi  the  meeting  with  a  company  of  the  religio-patriotic 
enthusiasts,  the  strange  ecstasy  so  exciting  the  wonder  of  those 
who  had  known  the  unassuming  giant,  that  the  question,  "  Is  Saul 
also  among  the  prophets,"  became  a  proverb  —  all  these  experiences 
accomplished  the  inward  change  which  the  seer  desired.  Saul 
went  home  and  kept  his  own  counsel  till  the  news  of  the  terrible 
straits  of  the  Israelites  hi  Jabesh  Gilead,  across  the  Jordan,  reached 
him,  as  he  came  following  the  oxen  out  of  the  field.  At  last  the 
insight  and  patience  of  Samuel  were  justified;  Saul  hewed  to 
pieces  a  yoke  of  the  oxen  and  sent  the  bloody  tokens  throughout 
the  land  with  bitter  threat  for  every  coward  laggard.  The  clans 
gathered  at  the  summons  of  a  determined  leader,  the  siege  of 
Jabesh  was  raised,  and  Israel  saw  once  more  what  she  could 
accomplish  when  united ;  yet  the  dread  of  Philistia  soon  sent  the 
more  part  of  the  warriors  slinking  to  cover  till  Jonathan's  strange 
and  gallant  exploit  at  the  pass  of  Michmash  and  the  Philistine 
rout  following  gave  new  courage. 

Saul  was  the  man  for  the  hour,  but  was  not  the  statesman  who 
could  secure  a  permanently  united  Israel.  The  impulsiveness 


36  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

that  gained  the  first  successes  nearly  cost  the  nation  the  life  of  the 
gallant  Jonathan.  The  first  enthusiasm  past,  strange  moods 
came  upon  the  leader  that  could  be  dissipated  only  by  music. 
The  young  musician  David,  hence  brought  into  Saul's  personal 
service,  soon  proved  a  man  of  military  genius  whose  success  called 
forth  from  the  dancing  women  an  antiphonal  couplet :  — 

Smitten  hath  Saul  his  thousands  now, 
And  David  his  myriads,  I  trow.1 

Quick  jealousy  followed  fond  affection  and  developed,  till  Saul 
seemed  almost  more  eager  to  be  rid  of  David  than  of  the  Philis- 
tines. David,  when  forced  to  fl.ee,  became  the  leader  of  an  outlaw 
band  and  then  a  vassal  of  one  of  the  Philistine  kings.  David's 
own  tribe  of  Judah  and  the  affiliated  clans  to  the  south,  which  had 
been  brought  into  union  with  the  northern  tribes,  were  now 
secretly  sympathetic  with  the  outlaw.  The  Philistines,  encouraged, 
it  may  be,  by  the  internal  feud  and  the  loss  to  Saul  of  his  brilliant 
officer,  united  for  a  great  invasion  of  Israel's  territory.  They 
marched  up  the  coast  plain,  crossed  the  ridge  of  Carmel,  and 
came  into  the  Kishon  valley,  where  the  fateful  battle  had  been 
fought  hi  Deborah's  day.  Mustering  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
valley  of  Jezreel  near  Shunem,  they  faced  Saul's  forces  on  the 
southern  side.  The  battle  was  fought  on  the  slope  of  Gilboa.  In 
the  defeat  of  Israel,  Saul  and  Jonathan,  with  two  other  sons  of  the 
king,  met  their  death. 

To  David  the  death  of  Saul  meant  the  possibility  of  escape 
from  an  intolerable  position  of  double-faced  conduct  which  could 
not  long  be  maintained,  and  possible  succession  to  the  throne. 
But  it  meant  also  the  humiliation  of  his  people,  with  their  land 
once  more  open  to  the  plundering  armies  of  Philistia,  the  death 
of  the  anointed  king  and  of  his  son  whose  soul  was  knit  to  David's. 

There  is  no  reason  to  question  the  Davidic  authorship  of  the 
wonderful  dirge  commemorating  the  death  of  Saul  and  Jonathan 
on  Gilboa2;  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  doubt  the  sincerity 

1 1  Samuel  18  7.  The  above  free  representation  of  the  lines  finds  its 
only  excuse  in  its  effort  to  reproduce  the  assonant  endings  and  in  its 
preservation  of  the  relative  length  of  the  lines.  The  final  words  of  the 
two  lines  end  in  phaw  and  thaw. 

2  For  a  brief  but  adequate  argument,  see  H.  P.  Smith,  Samuel,  Int. 
Crit.  Com.,  p.  258. 


POETRY  OF  THE   UNITED   KINGDOM  37 

of  David's  respect  for  Saul  and  his  deep  sense  of  the  nation's 
loss.  It  was  to  David's  interest,  it  is  true,  to  show  all  respect 
to  the  fallen  king,  but  all  the  traditions  are  unanimous  in  repre- 
senting David  as  most  sincerely  devoted  to  Saul,  and  this  con- 
temporary poem  rings  true.  One  argument  for  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  poem  is  that  an  imitator  would  almost  inevitably 
give  "at  least  a  veiled  allusion  to  David's  experience  at  the  court 
of  Saul  and  during  his  forced  exile."  x  We  have,  then,  in  David's 
lament  over  Saul  and  Jonathan,  a  valuable  contemporary  historical 
monument,  a  genuine  production  of  one  of  Israel's  most  versatile 
geniuses  to  whom  later  generations  assigned  many  songs,  and  the 
earliest  example  of  the  dirge  in  Hebrew  literature. 

That  David  was  a  musician  is  attested  in  the  earliest  prose 
narrative  of  his  relations  with  Saul.  This  narrative  was  perhaps 
the  earliest  connected  prose  of  Israel  and  was  certainly  written 
not  much  later  than  Solomon's  time.2  About  two  centuries  after 
David's  death  the  prophet  Amos  speaks  of  those  who  devise 
musical  instruments  like  David.3  Poet  and  musician  were  one  in 
antiquity,  and  David  may  have  composed  many  songs,  though  it 
is  impossible  to  say  how  many  of  these  are  preserved,  or  with 
certainty  to  assign  any  specific  ones  to  him,  except  this  lament 
and  that  for  Abner. 

The  spirit  of  the  dirge  for  Saul  and  Jonathan  is  national  first, 
then  personal.  It  affords  an  example  of  magnanimity,  of  freedom 
from  petty  feelings  of  revenge  that  would  do  credit  to  a  Christian 
statesman ;  but  it  is  quite  without  any  definitely  religious  thought. 
In  this  last  fact,  we  have  another  proof  of  genuineness,  since  the 
latter  ages,  which  made  David  such  a  religious  hero,  could  hardly 
have  failed  to  include  some  mention  of  Jehovah  in  a  pseudo- 
Davidic  poem  composed  to  fit  an  occasion  like  the  death  of  Saul. 
This  early  elegy  certainly  implies  in  its  artistic  adequacy  a 
considerable  development  of  this  type,  although  the  characteristic 
elegiac  metre  appears  very  little,  if  at  all.  In  the  much  earlier 
Deborah  song  there  seemed  to  be  genuine  examples  of  the  metre.4 

1  H.  P.  Smith,  op.  tit. 

*  This  document  will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  IV. 

1  Amos  6  s. 

4  See  p.  22. 


38  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

In  David's  lament,  lines  of  two  and  four  beats  prevail  and  are 
sometimes  arranged  quite  effectively  in  groups  that  begin  with 
short  lines  and  culminate  in  lines  of  four  beats.  Of  the  few 
five-beat  lines  in  the  poem,  the  one  which  gives  the  refrain, 
with  an  addition,  seems  most  like  the  typical  elegiac  line :  — 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen,  in  battle's  midst. 

Even  here,  however,  there  is  no  considerable  logical  pause  between 
the  third  and  fourth  accents,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  line 
of  the  poem  is  properly  to  be  classed  as  one  of  the  Qina  rhythm. 
The  absence  of  the  elegaic  verse-form  is  an  argument  against 
calling  the  measure  elegiac;  but  its  frequency  of  occurrence  in 
later  elegies  and  its  appropriateness  to  the  expression  of  the 
emotion  of  grief  justifies  the  name.  Like  the  Deborah  song,  the 
text  of  David's  elegy  has  suffered  in  transmission,  and  it  may  be 
that  its  metre  was  originally  much  more  regular  than  its  present 
form  indicates.  In  the  varied  measures  of  the  lines  as  we  have 
them  (two,  three,  four,  five  beats),  there  is  discoverable  no  such 
adapting  of  rhythm  to  thought  and  feeling  as  was  manifest  in  the 
earlier  great  poem.  On  the  other  hand,  the  parallelism  is  notably 
symmetrical;  except  for  the  addition  of  the  last  two  lines,  the 
poem  divides  itself  naturally  into  six  groups  of  four  lines  each. 
In  general,  these  groups  are  made  up  of  couplets  in  which  the 
parallelism  is  very  distinct,  while  the  second  couplet  stands  in 
synthetic  relation  with  the  first.  This  becomes  evident,  if  the 
first  and  third  lines  of  each  quatrain  are  read  consecutively. 
These  uniformly  show  a  true  synthetic  parallelism,  and  the  second 
and  fourth  lines  usually  stand  in  the  same  relation.  The  transla- 
tion which  follows  is  based  upon  a  Hebrew  text  considerably 
revised  and  sometimes  of  doubtful  conjecture:1  — 

Wail,  0  Judah ! 

Grieve,  0  Israel ! 

The  slain  are  on  thy  heights. 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen ! 

1  Commonly  the  textual  emendations  adopted  by  Dr.  H.  P.  Smith  in 
the  International  Critical  Commentary  have  commended  themselves  to  the 
present  writer,  although,  in  some  cases,  other  readings  have  been  pre- 
ferred. As  in  the  previous  translations  of  this  volume,  effort  has  been 
made  to  approximate  the  accentual  character  of  the  original  lines. 


POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  39 

Tell  it  not  in  Gath, 

Publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Ashkelon  ; 
Lest  the  Philistine  daughters  rejoice, 
Lest  the  foreigners'  daughters  triumph. 

Mountains  of  Gilboa,  may  no  dew  descend, 
Nor  rain  upon  you,  fields  of  death  ! 
For  there  the  shield  of  heroes  was  defiled, 
The  shield  of  Saul,  weapon  of  the  anointed. 

Saul  and  Jonathan,  the  beloved  and  the  lovely, 
In  life  and  death  they  were  not  divided, 
Than  vultures  were  swifter, 
Than  lions  were  stronger. 

Daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul, 
Who  made  you  scarlet  wear,  with  luxuries,1 
Who  put  adornments  of  gold  upon  your  raiment. 
How  are  the  mighty  fallen,  in  battle's  midst ! 

Jonathan,  by  thy  death  am  I  pierced,2 
I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan. 
Thou  wert  delightsome  to  me,  exceeding  wonderful ! 
More  than  women's  love  was  thine  to  me. 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen, 

And  perished  the  weapons  of  war ! 

Two  of  the  most  beautiful  aspects  of  David's  life  were  his  attitude 
toward  Saul  as  king  and  his  friendship  with  Jonathan.  The  poem 
seems  to  end  with  the  line  :  — 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen,  in  battle's  midst ! 

The  note  of  public  loss  has  been  dominant  to  this  point ;  Saul  and 
Jonathan  have  been  thought  of  as  mighty  warriors,  the  defenders 
and  enrichers  of  Israel ;  then  the  poet's  personal  grief  bursts  forth 
in  four  unsurpassed  lines  of  lament. 

After  the  death  of  Saul  and  his  three  sons  on  Gilboa,  the  people 
of  Judah  chose  David  as  their  king,  while  the  northern  tribes  were 

1  Possibly  fine  linen.     See  H.  P.  Smith  after  Graetz. 

2  Following  emendation  suggested  in  Kittel,  Biblia  Hebraica. 
1 2  Samuel  1  19~a. 


40  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

loyal  to  Saul's  line  in  the  person  of  his  son  Ishbaal.1  Though 
himself  incompetent,  the  ability  of  his  father's  old  general,  Abner, 
and  the  loyalty  of  the  people  made  it  possible  for  Ishbaal  to  main- 
tain himself  in  guerilla  warfare  with  David's  uncle  and  general, 
Joab.  Joab  was  a  ruthless  man,  and  when  at  length  Abner, 
incensed  at  Ishbaal,  sought  terms  with  David,  Joab,  gaining  oppor- 
tunity through  guile,  struck  him  down.  The  assigned  reason  was 
blood  vengeance  for  the  death  of  Joab's  brother,  but  jealous  fear 
lest  Abner  should  become  David's  commander  may  have  added 
venom  to  the  blow.  It  was  a  deed  fraught  with  grave  danger  for 
David's  ambitious  plans  of  uniting  the  northern  tribes  with  Judah. 
By  custom  that  had  come  down  from  the  days  of  the  desert  life, 
Joab  was  justified,  and  David  could  not  punish  if  he  would.  Joab 
was,  too,  a  general  whose  services  David  could  not  spare,  and  he 
continued  in  a  dominant  position  throughout  David's  long  reign, 
though  at  times  the  king  strove  to  rid  himself  of  the  brutal  warrior. 
David  had  occasion  to  regret  Abner's  untimely  death  and  to 
disavow  the  deed ;  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  had  any 
personal  affection  for  Saul's  general,  who  for  years  had  been  the 
chief  obstacle  to  his  advancement  over  all  Israel.  So  far  as  David's 
brief  lament  for  Abner  goes,  it  shows  no  very  great  emotion,  un- 
less toward  the  slayer,  and  herein  it  accords  well  with  the  circum- 
stances. The  inappropriateness  of  Abner's  death  seems  the  dom- 
inant sentiment ; 2  to  meet  death  thus  was  to  the  Hebrew  mind, 
with  its  belief  in  the  reward  of  character  by  long  and  prosperous 
life,  a  mark  of  divine  displeasure  or  an  incomprehensible  experience. 

As  die  the  base,  must  Abner  die  ? 
Thy  hands  were  not  bound, 

1  Ishbaal  (man  of  Baal),  the  original  form  of  the  name  of   Saul's  son, 
was  changed  by  later  generations  by  substituting   bosheth  (shame)  for 
Baal.     The   same  is  true  of   the  name  of  Jonathan's  son  Meribbaal. 
Evidently  in  the  days  of  Saul  names  compounded  of  Baal  gave  no  offence 
in  Israel.     The  ostraca  discovered  by  the  Harvard  expedition  at  Samaria 
indicate  that  "Baal"  continued  to  be  used  in  the  same  way  at  least  as 
late  as  Ahab's  time. 

2  The  thought  cannot  be  fully  translated.     The  word  translated  as 
base,  usually  fool,  hardly  has  an  English  equivalent.     While  it  means 
senseless,  this  to  the  Hebrew  way  of  thinking  is  more  moral  than  intellec- 
tual blindness. 


POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  41 

Nor  thy  feet  in  fetters  placed. 

As  one  falls  before  the  wicked,  fellest  thou.1 

In  our  first  English  poetry,  the  dirge  for  the  fallen  hero  is  more 
prevalent  than  the  victory  ode.  An  interesting  example  for 
comparison  with  David's  great  elegy  is  the  old  Gaelic  lament  on 
the  death  of  Oscar,  beginning :  — 

"Say,  Bard  of  the  Feinn  of  Erin, 
How  fared  the  fight,  Fergus,  my  son, 
In  Gabhra's  fierce  battle  day  ?    Say !" 

"The  fight  fared  not  well,  son  of  Cumhaill, 
From  Gabhra  come  tidings  of  ruin, 
For  Oscar  the  fearless  is  slain. 
The  sons  of  Caeilte  were  seven ; 
They  fell  with  the  Feinn  of  Alban. 
The  youth  of  the  Feinn  are  fallen, 
Are  dead  in  their  battle  array. 
And  dead  on  the  field  lies  MacLuy, 
With  six  of  the  sons  of  thy  sire. 
The  young  men  of  Alban  are  fallen; 
The  Feinn  of  Breatan  are  fallen. 
And  dead  is  the  king's  son  of  Lochlan, 
Who  hastened  to  war  for  our  right  — 
The  king's  son  with  a  heart  ever  open, 
And  arm  ever  strong  in  the  fight."  2 

At  an  early  date  hi  Israel,  it  became  customary  to  compose 
oracles  in  verse.  In  the  form  that  these  have  come  down  to  us, 
it  is  clear  that  they  are  prophecies  ex  eventu;  it  was  a  popular 
literary  device  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  some  ancient  hero  a  poetic 
blessing  or  curse  in  which  events  already  historical  were  pictured 
as  foreshadowed  by  him.  Thus  we  have  in  Genesis  49  the  so- 
called  Blessing  of  Jacob,  the  subsequent  situation,  character,  and 
fate  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  pictured  as  predictively  declared  to  the 
twelve  sons,  just  before  the  death  of  Jacob.  In  its  present  form, 
the  poem  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  time  of  the  early  monarchy,  and  it 
represents  the  history  as  then  known.  This  oracle  is  important 

1  2  Samuel  3  ». 

2  Henry  Morley,  English  Writers,  Vol.  I,  p.  194  f. 


42  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

as  an  ancient  historical  monument,  but  it  is  not  very  attractive  as 
a  poem.  One  of  its  most  interesting  literary  features  is  its  play 
upon  words,  of  which  we  have  seen  examples  in  early  poetry; 
there  seems  no  very  good  reason,  for  example,  why  Dan  should  be 
singled  out  as  judging  his  people,  except  that  the  Hebrew  word 
for  judging  resembles  the  name  Dan  in  sound. 

The  Balaam  oracles  have  far  more  of  freedom  and  charm.  As 
they  appear  in  Numbers  23  7"10,  18"24,  and  24  3~9,  15~17,  we  have 
approximately  the  form  which  they  had  assumed  in  the  early  days 
of  the  monarchy.  The  poems  as  given  in  chapter  24  suggest 
the  frenzy  characteristic  of  early  prophets  in  contrast  to  the  later 
prophets  of  Israel.  A  vivid  picture  of  the  customs  of  the  prophets 
of  Baal  is  given  in  1  Kings  18  26~29,  the  description  of  the  Carmel 
scene  where,  in  their  frenzied  zeal,  they  had  leaped  upon  the  altar, 
gashed  their  flesh,  and  cried  aloud  to  their  god.  The  condition 
in  which  Balaam  is  pictured  as  -receiving  his  vision  when  fallen 
down  is  not  out  of  accord  with  the  wild  free  note  of  the  oracles.1 
The  poems  do  not  naturally  fall  into  any  strophic  form,  as  in  the 
case  of  David's  lament,  nor  do  they  exhibit  any  such  well-arranged 
series  of  dramatic  pictures  as  the  Deborah  song.  The  figures  are 
constantly  changing  in  response  to  the  intensity  of  feeling;  all  is 
spontaneous  and  at  the  farthest  remove  from  artificiality  or  rigidity. 
The  poems  of  chapter  23  partake  less  of  the  wild,  free  spirit  of  the 
desert  and  show  more  of  the  influence  of  religious  ideas  which 
are  becoming  traditional  and  stereotyped.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  the  fact  that  chapter  23  1-24  comes  from  a  document  which 
is  somewhat  later  and  more  developed  in  its  theological  ideas  than 
that  from  which  24  l~19  was  taken  by  the  compiler  of  the  narrative.2 
In  chapter  24,  we  probably  have  the  form  in  which  the  oracles 
were  preserved  in  Judah,  and  in  23,  their  Ephraimite,  or  northern 
Israelitish  form. 

Before  concluding  our  survey  of  the  poetry  of  the  United  King- 
dom, we  may  note  that  it  was  very  possibly  during  this  century 
that  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Jehovah,  to  which  allusion  was 
made  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  compiled.  In  the  years  of 

1  Interesting  comparisons  with  the  habits  of  modern  Dervishes  are  often 
suggested. 

2  For  discussion  of  the  two  documents,  see  below,  Chapters  V  and  VII. 


POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  43 

conquest  and  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  land,  Jehovah 
was  chiefly  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  great  leader  of  Israel's  armies. 
When,  in  later  centuries,  Israel  had  learned  to  view  her  God  hi 
other  and  higher  aspects,  her  warlike  cousins,  the  Assyrians,  still 
thought  of  their  god  Ashur  mainly  as  the  giver  of  victory  in  wars 
of  conquest;  the  phrase  "my  god  Ashur  giving  me  the  victory" 
recurs  with  monotonous  uniformity  in  the  records  of  the  Assyrian 
kings. 

The  other  book  of  early  poems,  to  which  allusion  is  made  in 
Hebrew  literature,  certainly  was  not  completed  before  David's 
tune,  since  it  contained  his  great  elegy —  "behold  it  is  written  hi 
the  book  of  Jashar.1 "  The  name  Jashar  seems  to  be  used  as  a 
synonym  for  Israel 2 ;  and  this  too  was  evidently  a  book  of  national 
songs.  Our  tantalizing  glimpses  of  these  early  collections  of  songs 
lif t  the  veil  a  little  from  the  real  Israel  hi  lusty  youth.  When  one 
compares  these  national  song;  books  that  lie  back  of  the  Bible 
with  the  great  national  song  book  that  has  been  preserved  (Psalms), 
the  distance  that  Israel  travelled  between  the  days  of  the  Judges 
or  early  monarchy  and  the  latest  pre-Christian  centuries  becomes 
palpable. 

.  Even  within  individual  Psalms  the  sharpest  contrasts  between 
the  spirit  of  early  Israel  and  the  post-exilic  age  may  be  felt.  In 
24,  for  example,  verses  7-10  may  very  well  come  from  David's 
tune,  celebrating  the  entrance  of  the  ark  into  Jerusalem;  these 
lines  by  themselves  give  only  the  warlike  God  of  Deborah. 

Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates ; 

And  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors : 

And  the  King  of  glory  will  come  in. 

Who  is  the  King  of  glory  ? 

Jehovah  strong  and  mighty, 

Jehovah  mighty  in  battle. 

Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates ; 

Yea,  lift  them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors : 

1  2  Samuel  1  1S. 

2  "The  book  of  Jashar"  would  be  translated  literally  "the  book  of  the 
Upright,"  as  in  the  margin  of  the  R.  V.     A  familiar  example  of  the 
diminutive  form  of  the  name  is  found  in  the  song  of  Deuteronomy  15, 
"  Jeshurun  waxed  fat  and  kicked." 


44  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

And  the  King  of  glory  will  come  in. 
Who  is  this  King  of  glory  ? 
Jehovah  of  hosts, 
He  is  the  King  of  glory. 

The  first  six  verses  of  this  Psalm  offer  a  conception  of  God  attained 
through  the  insight  of  Israel's  prophets  five  hundred  years  after 
David's  time. 

Only  less  marked  is  the  contrast  between  the  ancient  poetic 
bit  in  Psalm  60  6~loa  and  the  remainder  of  the  poem.  The  ancient 
portion  is  an  oracle  assigning  the  east  and  west  Jordan  territory 
to  Israel  and  promising  victory  over  the  Philistines,  with  Edom  and 
Moab  reduced  to  the  position  of -slaves. 

Yahweh  spake  in  His  sanctuary : 

"I  will  exult,  I  will  divide  Shechem ; 

And  the  Valley  of  Succoth  will  I  mete  out. 
Gilead  is  Mine,  and  Mine  is  Manasseh ; 

Ephraim  also  is  the  defence  of  My  head ; 

Judah  is  My  commander's  staff. 
Moab  is  My  washpot ; 

Unto  Edom  will  I  cast  My  sandal ; 

Over  Philistia  will  I  shout  in  victory." 
0  that  one  would  conduct  me  to  the  entrenched  city  ? 

O  that  one  would  lead  me  unto  Edom  ? 

Wilt  not  Thou  (Yahweh)  71 

The  later  portions  which  envelop  this  utterance  of  confident 
youth  breathe  the  sense  of  Jehovah's  rejection,  so  characteristic 
of  the  Babylonian  exile  and  the  generations  following. 

A  comparison  of  modern  hymns  as  they  appear  in  successive 
collections  will  show  that  they  are  modified  from  time  to  time,  in 
a  surprising  number  of  cases.  The  hymns  of  ancient  Israel  evi- 
dently suffered  successive  editings  and  combinations  before  they 
assumed  their  final  form  in  the  late,  post-exilic  book  of  Psalms. 
If  we  are  to  find  genuine  songs  of  the  days  of  the  United  Kingdom 
in  the  book,  it  can  only  be  through  a  process  of  rigid  criticism  that 
separates  the  late  elements  from  the  early.  We  may  well  believe 
that  the  book  of  Psalms  in  its  ultimate  form  contains  much  that 

1  Translation  of  Professor  Briggs,  Psalms,  in  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  II,  p.  58. 


POETRY  OF  THE  UNITED   KINGDOM  45 

arose  during  the  monarchy,  and  that  some  of  this  came  from  the 
time  of  David  and  Solomon.  In  only  a  few  instances,  however,  is 
it  possible  to  distinguish  these  early  portions  with  even  approxi- 
mate certainty.1 

1  Professor  Briggs  finds,  in  addition  to  the  portions  of  24  and  60  noted 
above,  as  genuine  products  of  the  Davidic  age :  7  1"4a, 5,  12~16,  18  2~19, 28~44, 
46~48,  60,  and  possibly  13  1-5.  23  he  would  place  possibly  in  the  reign  of 
Solomon.  Psalms,  Int.  Crit.  Com. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BEGINNINGS   OF   CONNECTED   PROSE   WRITING 

(Before  900  B.C.) 

THE  years  of  struggle  between  Canaanite,  Philistine,  and 
Hebrew  for  possession  of  the  vine-covered  hills  and  fertile  valleys 
of  Palestine  produced  noble  songs  and  prose  tales,  handed  down  by 
word  of  mouth,  but  not  connected  prose  writing.  So,  too,  the 
years  of  struggle  of  Celt  and  Saxon  for  possession  of  Britain  called 
forth  gleeman's  song  rather  than  historian's  narrative.  This 
came  later.  Comparison  between  the  early  English  and  Hebrew 
literature  may  be  carried  far,  for  the  history  of  early  prose  writing 
in  our  own  literature  offers  closest  analogy  to  that  of  Israel.1 

It  was  not  till  near  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  A.D.,  in 
Christian  England,  that  Gildas  the  Wise  wrote  his  Epistle  concern- 
ing the  wickedness  and  corruption  of  the  British  State  and  Church. 
This  he  introduced  by  an  historical  sketch,  "clearly  derived,"  it  is 
maintained,  "from  oral  tradition."2  This  historical  introduction 
was  used  more  than  a  century  later  in  the  compilation  of  the 
Historic,  Britonum,  "a  curious  congeries  of  writings"  compiled 
somewhere  about  the  year  679  A.D.,  with  additions  in  later  times. 
About  the  year  800,  one  Nennius  is  supposed  to  have  made  a 
recension  of  the  whole;  although,  in  accordance  with  another 
view,  the  original  compilation  is  ascribed  to  Nennius.  In  either 
case,  whether  the  original  Historia  dates  from  the  last  quarter  of 
the  seventh  century  or  from  800,  the  earliest  connected  narrative 
known  to  us  dealt  with  comparatively  recent  history,  resting  on 

1  Carpenter  and  Harford-Battersby  (The  Hexateuch,  I,  p.  4  f.)  and 
Dr.  John  P.  Peters  (various  writings)  have  noted  some  of  the  similarities 
in  the  literary  history.  The  subject  was  first  suggested  to  the  present 
writer  by  Peters,  Early  Hebrew  Story.  The  working  out  of  the  analogies 
in  the  present  volume  has  been  along  almost  wholly  independent  lines. 

*  See  Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature,  Vol.  I,  p.  73. 

46 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING        47 

oral  traditions,  and  this  was  used  as  one  document  in  the  earliest 
direct  attempt  to  write  the  history  of  the  Britons,  which  was 
itself  a  compilation  rather  than  original  composition  of  digested 
material.  Again  Gildas,  and,  probably,  the  Historia  Britonum, 
were  among  the  sources  used  by  Bede,  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighth 
century,  in  his  ecclesiastical  history  of  England,  a  work  which 
carries  the  history  from  the  landing  of  Caesar  down  to  the  tune  of 
the  writer.  Bede's  history  and  other  materials  were  used  hi  the 
Saxon  Chronicle,  begun  in  Alfred's  tune  (ninth  century)  and 
continued  by  various  hands  on  into  the  twelfth  century.  In  this 
latter  century,  Florence  of  Worcester  attempted  to  write  a  uni- 
versal history,  beginning  with  the  creation.  He.  styled  it  Chroni- 
con  ex  Chronicis,  a  name  which  suggests  its  real  nature  as  a 
compilation.  The  basis  of  the  earlier  portions  was  the  Universal 
Chronicle  of  the  Irish  monk  Marianus  Scotus,  who,  for  the  early 
portion  of  his  history,  was  a  compiler  from  Bede  and  the  Old  Eng- 
lish Chronicle.  Other  monks  continued  the  work  of  Florence  after 
his  death.  Thus,  during  the  six  centuries,  from  the  day  when 
Gildas  the  Wise  wrote,  rather  incidentally,  connected  history 
from  oral  tradition,  to  Florence  of  Worcester  and  his  Chronicon 
ex  Chronicis,  historical  writing  in  England  advanced  largely  through 
the  process  of  compilation.  Again,  we  may  note  that  historical 
writing  dealt  at  first  with  comparatively  recent  events  and  that 
gradually  the  historians  extended  their  view  backward.  Bede 
reached  back  to  the  conquest  of  Britain  by  Caesar,  and,  several 
centuries  later,  Marianus  and  Florence  strove  to  write  the  story 
from  the  creation  on. 

In  Israel  it  is  certainly  not  earlier  than  the  era  of  David  and 
Solomon  that  we  can  find  connected  prose  writings.  They  come 
only  when  the  nation  has  been  united  and  comparative  peace 
secured.  As  in  the  case  of  Gildas's  Epistle,  the  earliest  concern 
not  the  distant  past,  but  more  recent  events;  they  are  current 
stories  handed  down  orally  with  much  lifelike  detail.  The  story 
of  David's  court  and  family  life,  which  makes  up  the  greater  part 
of  2  Samuel,  is  very  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  earliest  connected 
prose  writing  of  Israel;  the  narratives  of  Saul  and  David,  how- 
ever, beginning  at  1  Samuel  9,  may  be  as  early  or  even  earlier. 

The  work  of  Gildas,  we  have  seen,  was  embodied  in  a  later 


48  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

composition,  the  Historia  Britonum,  and  this  reedited  by  Nennius ; 
Gildas  and  the  Historia,  with  other  sources,  were  used  by  Bede, 
and  so  on,  through  the  Saxon  Chronicle  and  the  compilation  of 
Florence.  So  the  early  Saul  and  David  narratives  were  combined 
with  other  narratives  of  Samuel,  Saul,  and  David,  and  ultimately, 
some  four  hundred  years  after  their  times,  were  edited  in  the  present 
books  of  Samuel.  In  the  study  of  each  literature,  the  long  and 
patient  work  of  many  critics,  building  upon  and  correcting  each 
other,  has  so  far  unravelled  the  various  documents  compiled  that 
we  can  now  select  with  considerable  certainty  the  portions  belong- 
ing to  the  earlier  and  later  strands.  Apparently  the  students  of 
each  literature  have  commonly -worked  in  ignorance  of  the  details 
of  the  work  being  done  in  the  other,  so  that  the  closely  analogous 
results  are  the  more  notable. 

The  analysis,  now  made  with  confidence,  gives  a  group  of  early 
Saul  stories  which  probably  constituted  at  first  a  separate  cycle  of 
narratives,  written  down  by  a  different  hand  from  that  which 
gathered  the  David-Saul  stories.  In  order  to  appreciate  the  Saul 
stories  in  their  individual  character,  as  they  first  existed  in  a  sepa- 
rate document,  it  is  necessary  to  read  them  through  by  themselves.1 

Now  there  was  a  man  of  Benjamin,  whose  name  was  Kish,  the  son  of 
Abiel,  the  son  of  Zeror,  the  son  of  Becorath,  the  son  of  Aphiah,  the  son 
of  a  Benjamite,  a  mighty  man  of  valor.  And  he  had  a  son,  whose  name 
was  Saul,  a  young  man  and  a  goodly:  and  there  was  not  among  the 
children  of  Israel  a  goodlier  person  than  he :  from  his  shoulders  and  up- 
ward he  was  higher  than  any  of  the  people.  And  the  asses  of  Kish,  Saul's 

1  They  now  constitute  the  following  sections  of  1  Samuel :  9  1~10,  ", 
11  »-«,  1B,  13  2~7,  18~18,  23,  14  »-«.  Some  of  the  grounds  for  the  separation 
of  this  material  and  the  David-Saul  stories  from  the  later  strand  of 
Samuel  lie  on  the  surface.  There  are  in  1  Samuel  two  different  conceptions 
of  the  position  held  by  Samuel,  the  one  viewing  him  as  a  prophet,  the 
other  as  a  "judge.''  With  these  go  different  views  of  Samuel's  attitude 
toward  the  founding  of  the  monarchy ;  the  narrative  that  pictures  him  as 
a  "judge"  views  the  kingdom  from  the  standpoint  of  its  later  defects. 
There  are,  too,  several  duplicate  narratives  :  two  introductions  of  David 
to  Saul,  two  origins  of  the  saying  concerning  Saul  among  the  prophets, 
two  accounts  of  the  sparing  of  Saul's  life,  with  striking  similarities,  etc. 
The  analysis  of  1  Samuel  into  its  earlier  and  later  strands  relieves  difficulties 
that  puzzle  even  the  young  Sunday  school  scholar.  The  character  of 
the  later  document  will  be  considered  in  Chapter  XIV. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING        49 

father,  were  lost.  And  Kish  said  to  Saul  his  son,  Take  now  one  of  the 
servants  with  thee,  and  arise,  go  seek  the  asses.  And  he  passed  through 
the  hill-country  of  Ephraim,  and  passed  through  the  land  of  Shalishah, 
but  they  found  them  not :  then  they  passed  through  the  land  of  Shaalim, 
and  there  they  were  not :  and  he  passed  through  the  land  of  the  Benja- 
mites,  but  they  found  them  not. 

When  they  were  come  to  the  land  of  Zuph,  Saul  said  to  his  servant  that 
was  with  him,  Come,  and  let  us  return,  lest  my  father  leave  off  caring  for 
the  asses,  and  be  anxious  for  us.  And  he  said  unto  him,  Behold  now, 
there  is  in  this  city  a  man  of  God,  and  he  is  a  man  that  is  held  in  honor ; 
all  that  he  saith  cometh  surely  to  pass :  now  let  us  go  thither ;  perad- 
venture  he  can  tell  us  concerning  our  journey  whereon  we  go.  Then  said 
Saul  to  his  servant,  But,  behold,  if  we  go,  what  shall  we  bring  the  man  ? 
for  the  bread  is  spent  in  our  vessels,  and  there  is  not  a  present  to  bring  to 
the  man  of  God :  what  have  we  ?  And  the  servant  answered  Saul  again, 
and  said,  Behold,  I  have  in  my  hand  the  fourth  part  of  a  shekel  of  silver : 
that  will  I  give  to  the  man  of  God,  to  tell  us  our  way.  (Beforetime  in 
Israel,  when  a  man  went  to  inquire  of  God,  thus  he  said,  Come,  and  let  us 
go  to  the  seer ;  for  he  that  is  now  called  a  Prophet  was  bef oretime  called 
a  Seer.)  Then  said  Saul  to  his  servant,  Well  said ;  come,  let  us  go.  So 
they  went  unto  the  city  where  the  man  of  God  was. 

As  they  went  up  the  ascent  to  the  city,  they  found  young  maidens  going 
out  to  draw  water,  and  said  unto  them,  Is  the  seer  here?  And  they 
answered  them,  and  said,  He  is ;  behold,  he  is  before  thee :  make  haste 
now,  for  he  is  come  to-day  into  the  city ;  for  the  people  have  a  sacrifice 
to-day  in  the  high  place.  As  soon  as  ye  are  come  into  the  city,  ye  shall 
straightway  find  him,  before  he  goeth  up  to  the  high  place  to  eat;  for 
the  people  will  not  eat  until  he  come,  because  he  doth  bless  the  sacrifice ; 
and  afterwards  they  eat  that  are  bidden.  Now  therefore  get  you  up; 
for  at  this  time  ye  shall  find  him.  And  they  went  up  to  the  city;  and 
as  they  came  within  the  city,  behold,  Samuel  came  out  toward  them,  to 
go  up  to  the  high  place. 

Now  Jehovah  had  revealed  unto  Samuel  a  day  before  Saul  came,  saying, 
To-morrow  about  this  time  I  will  send  thee  a  man  out  of  the  land  of 
Benjamin,  and  thou  shalt  anoint  him  to  be  prince  over  my  people  Israel; 
and  he  shall  save  my  people  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines :  for  I  have 
looked  upon  my  people,  because  their  cry  is  come  unto  me.  And  when 
Samuel  saw  Saul,  Jehovah  said  unto  him,  Behold,  the  man  of  whom  I 
spake  to  thee !  this  same  shall  have  authority  over  my  people.  Then 
Saul  drew  near  to  Samuel  in  the  gate,  and  said,  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  where 
the  seer's  house  is.  And  Samuel  answered  Saul,  and  said,  I  am  the  seer ; 


50  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

go  up  before  me  unto  the  high  place,  for  yc  shall  eat  with  me  to-day :  and 
in  the  morning  I  will  let  thee  go,  and  will  tell  thee  all  that  is  in  thy  heart. 
And  as  for  thine  asses  that  were  lost  three  days  ago,  set  not  thy  mind  on 
them;  for  they  are  found.  And  for  whom  is  all  that  is  desirable  in 
Israel?  Is  it  not  for  thee,  and  for  all  thy  father's  house?  And  Saul 
answered  and  said,  Am  not  I  a  Benjamite,  of  the  smallest  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel  ?  and  my  family  the  least  of  all  the  families  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  ? 
wherefore  then  speakest  thou  to  me  after  this  manner  ? 

And  Samuel  took  Saul  and  his  servant,  and  brought  them  into  the 
guest-chamber,  and  made  them  sit  in  the  chiefest  place  among  them  that 
were  bidden,  who  were  about  thirty  persons.  And  Samuel  said  unto 
the  cook,  Bring  the  portion  which  I  gave  thee,  of  which  I  said  unto  thee, 
Set  it  by  thee.  And  the  cook  took"  up  the  thigh,  and  that  which  was 
upon  it,  and  set  it  before  Saul.  And  Samuel  said,  Behold,  that  which 
hath  been  reserved  !  set  it  before  thee  and  eat ;  because  unto  the  appointed 
time  hath  it  been  kept  for  thee,  for  I  said,  I  have  invited  the  people.  So 
Saul  did  eat  with  Samuel  that  day. 

And  when  they  were  come  down  from  the  high  place  into  the  city,  he 
communed  with  Saul  upon  the  housetop.  And  they  arose  early :  and  it 
came  to  pass  about  the  spring  of  the  day,  that  Samuel  called  to  Saul  on  the 
housetop,  saying,  Up,  that  I  may  send  thee  away.  And  Saul  arose,  and 
they  went  out  both  of  them,  he  and  Samuel,  abroad.  As  they  were  going 
down  at  the  end  of  the  city,  Samuel  said  to  Saul,  Bid  the  servant  pass  on 
before  us  (and  he  passed  on),  but  stand  thou  still  first,  that  I  may  cause 
thee  to  hear  the  word  of  God. 

Then  Samuel  took  the  vial  of  oil,  and  poured  it  upon  his  head,  and 
kissed  him,  and  said,  Is  it  not  that  Jehovah  hath  anointed  thee  to  be  prince 
over  his  inheritance?  When  thou  art  departed  from  me  to-day,  then 
thou  shalt  find  two  men  by  Rachel's  sepulchre,  in  the  border  of  Benjamin 
at  Zelzah;  and  they  will  say  unto  thee,  The  asses  which  thou  wentest 
to  seek  are  found ;  and,  lo,  thy  father  hath  left  off  caring  for  the  asses, 
and  is  anxious  for  you,  saying,  What  shall  I  do  for  my  son  ?  Then  shalt 
thou  go  on  forward  from  thence,  and  thou  shalt  come  to  the  oak  of  Tabor; 
and  there  shall  meet  thee  there  three  men  going  up  to  God  to  Bethel,  one 
carrying  three  kids,  and  another  carrying  three  loaves  of  bread,  and 
another  carrying  a  bottle  of  wine :  and  they  will  salute  thee,  and  give  thee 
two  loaves  of  bread,  which  thou  shalt  receive  of  their  hand.  After  that 
thou  shalt  come  to  the  hill  of  God,  where  is  the  garrison  of  the  Philistines : 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  thou  art  come  thither  to  the  city,  that  thou 
shalt  meet  a  band  of  prophets  coming  down  from  the  high  place  with  a 
psaltery,  and  a  timbrel,  and  a  pipe,  and  a  harp,  before  them ;  and  they 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE   WRITING        51 

will  be  prophesying :  and  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  will  come  mightily  upon 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  prophesy  with  them,  and  shalt  be  turned  into  another 
man.  And  let  it  be,  when  these  signs  are  come  unto  thee,  that  thou  do 
as  occasion  shall  serve  thee;  for  God  is  with  thee.  And  thou  shalt  go 
down  before  me  to  Gilgal ;  and,  behold,  I  will  come  down  unto  thee,  to 
offer  burnt-offerings,  and  to  sacrifice  sacrifices  of  peace-offerings:  seven 
days  shalt  thou  tarry,  till  I  come  unto  thee,  and  show  thee  what  thou 
shalt  do. 

And  it  was  so,  that,  when  he  had  turned  his  back  to  go  from  Samuel, 
God  gave  him  another  heart :  and  all  those  signs  came  to  pass  that  day. 
And  when  they  came  thither  to  the  hill,  behold,  a  band  of  prophets  met 
him ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  came  mightily  upon  him,  and  he  prophesied 
among  them.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  all  that  knew  him  beforetime 
saw  that,  behold,  he  prophesied  with  the  prophets,  then  the  people  said 
one  to  another,  What  is  this  that  is  come  unto  the  son  of  Kish  ?  Is  Saul 
also  among  the  prophets  ?  And  one  of  the  same  place  answered  and  said, 
And  who  is  their  father?  Therefore  it  became  a  proverb,  Is  Saul  also 
among  the  prophets?  And  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  prophesying, 
he  came  to  the  high  place. 

And  Saul's  uncle  said  unto  him  and  to  his  servant,  Whither  went  ye  ? 
And  he  said,  To  seek  the  asses ;  and  when  we  saw  that  they  were  not 
found,  we  came  to  Samuel.  And  Saul's  uncle  said,  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee, 
what  Samuel  said  unto  you.  And  Saul  said  unto  his  uncle,  He  told  us 
plainly  that  the  asses  were  found.  But  concerning  the  matter  of  the 
kingdom,  whereof  Samuel  spake,  he  told  him  not. 

Then  Nahash  the  Ammonite  came  up,  and  encamped  against  Jabesh- 
gilead :  and  all  the  men  of  Jabesh  said  unto  Nahash,  Make  a  covenant  with 
us,  and  we  will  serve  thee.  And  Nahash  the  Ammonite  said  unto  them, 
On  this  condition  will  I  make  it  with  you,  that  all  your  right  eyes  be  put 
out ;  and  I  will  lay  it  for  a  reproach  upon  all  Israel.  And  the  elders  of 
Jabesh  said  unto  him,  Give  us  seven  days'  respite,  that  we  may  send 
messengers  unto  all  the  borders  of  Israel ;  and  then,  if  there  be  none  to 
save  us,  we  will  come  out  to  thee.  Then  came  the  messengers  to  Gibeah 
of  Saul,  and  spake  these  words  in  the  ears  of  the  people :  and  all  the  people 
lifted  up  their  voice,  and  wept.  And,  behold,  Saul  came  following  the 
oxen  out  of  the  field ;  and  Saul  said,  What  aileth  the  people  that  they 
weep  ?  And  they  told  him  the  words  of  the  men  of  Jabesh. 

And  the  Spirit  of  God  came  mightily  upon  Saul  when  he  heard  those 
words,  and  his  anger  was  kindled  greatly.  And  he  took  a  yoke  of  oxen, 
and  cut  them  in  pieces,  and  sent  them  throughout  all  the  borders  of  Israel 
by  the  hand  of  messengers,  saying,  Whosoever  cometh  not  forth  after  Saul 


52  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

and  after  Samuel,  so  shall  it  be  done  unto  his  oxen.  And  the  dread  of 
Jehovah  fell  on  the  people,  and  they  came  out  as  one  man.  And  he 
numbered  them  in  Bezek.  And  they  said  unto  the  messengers  that 
came,  Thus  shall  ye  say  unto  the  men  of  Jabesh-gilead,  To-morrow, 
by  the  tune  the  sun  is  hot,  ye  shall  have  deliverance.  And  the 
messengers  came  and  told  the  men  of  Jabesh;  and  they  were  glad. 
Therefore  the  men  of  Jabesh  said,  To-morrow  we  will  come  out  unto  you, 
and  ye  shall  do  with  us  all  that  seemeth  good  unto  you.  And  it  was  so  on 
the  morrow,  that  Saul  put  the  people  in  three  companies ;  and  they  came 
into  the  midst  of  the  camp  in  the  morning  watch,  and  smote  the  Ammonites 
until  the  heat  of  the  day :  and  it  came  to  pass,  that  they  that  remained 
were  scattered,  so  that  not  two  of  them  were  left  together.  And  all  the 
people  went  to  Gilgal;  and  there  they  made  Saul  king  before  Jehovah 
in  Gilgal ;  and  there  they  offered  sacrifices  of  peace-offerings  before  Je- 
hovah; and  there  Saul  and  all  the  men  of  Israel  rejoiced  greatly. 

Saul  chose  him  three  thousand  men  of  Israel,  whereof  two  thousand 
were  with  Saul  in  Michmash  and  in  the  mount  of  Bethel,  and  'a  thousand 
were  with  Jonathan  in  Gibeah  of  Benjamin :  and  the  rest  of  the  people 
he  sent  every  man  to  his  tent.  And  Jonathan  smote  the  garrison  of  the 
Philistines  that  was  in  Geba ;  and  the  Philistines  heard  of  it.  And  Saul 
blew  the  trumpet  throughout  all  the  land,  saying,  Let  the  Hebrews  hear. 
And  all  Israel  heard  say  that  Saul  had  smitten  the  garrison  of  the  Philis- 
tines, and  also  that  Israel  was  had  in  abomination  with  the  Philistines. 
And  the  people  were  gathered  together  after  Saul  to  Gilgal. 

And  the  Philistines  assembled  themselves  together  to  fight  with  Israel, 
thirty  thousand  chariots,  and  six  thousand  horsemen,  and  people  as  the 
sand  which  is  on  the  sea-shore  in  multitude:  and  they  came  up,  and 
encamped  in  Michmash,  eastward  of  Beth-aven.  When  the  men  of 
Israel  saw  that  they  were  in  a  strait  (for  the  people  were  distressed), 
then  the  people  did  hide  themselves  in  caves,  and  in  thickets,  and  in  rocks, 
and  in  coverts,  and  in  pits.  Now  some  of  the  Hebrews  had  gone  over  the 
Jordan  to  the  land  of  Gad  and  Gilead;  but  as  for  Saul,  he  was  yet  in 
Gilgal,  and  all  the  people  followed  him  trembling. 

And  Saul,  and  Jonathan  his  son,  and  the  people  that  were  present  with 
them,  abode  in  Geba  of  Benjamin :  but  the  Philistines  encamped  in  Mich- 
mash. And  the  spoilers  came  out  of  the  camp  of  the  Philistines  in  three 
companies :  one  company  turned  unto  the  way  that  leadeth  to  Ophrah, 
unto  the  land  of  Shual ;  and  another  company  turned  the  way  to  Beth-ho- 
ron;  and  another  company  turned  the  way  of  the  border  that  looketh 
down  upon  the  valley  of  Zeboim  toward  the  wilderness.  And  the  garrison 
of  the  Philistines  went  out  unto  the  pass  of  Michmash. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING         53 

Now  it  fell  upon  a  day,  that  Jonathan  the  son  of  Saul  said  unto  the 
young  man  that  bare  his  armor,  Come,  and  let  us  go  over  to  the  Philis- 
tines' garrison,  that  is  on  yonder  side.  But  he  told  not  his  father.  And 
Saul  abode  hi  the  uttermost  part  of  Gibeah  under  the  pomegranate-tree 
which  is  in  Migron :  and  the  people  that  were  with  him  were  about  six 
hundred  men ;  and  Ahijah,  the  son  of  Ahitub,  Ichabod's  brother,  the  son 
of  Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eli,  the  priest  of  Jehovah  hi  Shiloh,  wearing  an 
ephod.  And  the  people  knew  not  that  Jonathan  was  gone.  And  between 
the  passes  by  which  Jonathan  sought  to  go  over  unto  the  Philistines' 
garrison,  there  was  a  rocky  crag  on  the  one  side,  and  a  rocky  crag  on  the 
other  side :  and  the  name  of  the  one  was  Bozez,  and  the  name  of  the  other 
Seneh.  The  one  crag  rose  up  on  the  north  in  front  of  Michmash,  and  the 
other  on  the  south  in  front  of  Geba. 

And  Jonathan  said  to  the  young  man  that  bare  his  armor,  Come,  and 
let  us  go  over  unto  the  garrison  of  these  uncircumcised :  it  may  be  that 
Jehovah  will  work  for  us ;  for  there  is  no  restraint  to  Jehovah  to  save  by 
many  or  by  few.  And  his  armorbearer  said  unto  him,  Do  all  that  is  hi 
thy  heart:  turn  thee,  behold,  I  am  with  thee  according  to  thy  heart. 
Then  said  Jonathan,  Behold,  we  will  pass  over  unto  the  men,  and  we  will 
disclose  ourselves  unto  them.  If  they  say  thus  unto  us,  Tarry  until  we 
come  to  you ;  then  we  will  stand  still  in  our  place,  and  will  not  go  up  un- 
to them.  But  if  they  say  thus,  Come  up  unto  us ;  then  we  will  go  up ; 
for  Jehovah  hath  delivered  them  into  our  hand :  and  this  shall  be  the  sign 
unto  us.  And  both  of  them  disclosed  themselves  unto  the  garrison  of  the 
Philistines:  and  the  Philistines  said,  Behold,  the  Hebrews  come  forth 
out  of  the  holes  where  they  had  hid  themselves.  And  the  men  of  the 
garrison  answered  Jonathan  and  his  armorbearer,  and  said,  Come  up  to 
us,  and  we  will  show  you  a  thing.  And  Jonathan  said  unto  his  armor- 
bearer,  Come  up  after  me;  for  Jehovah  hath  delivered  them  into  the 
hand  of  Israel.  And  Jonathan  climbed  up  upon  his  hands  and  upon  his 
feet,  and  his  armorbearer  after  him :  and  they  fell  before  Jonathan ;  and 
his  armorbearer  slew  them  after  him.  And  that  first  slaughter,  which 
Jonathan  and  his  armorbearer  made,  was  about  twenty  men,  within  as  it 
were  hah*  a  furrow's  length  in  an  acre  of  land.  And  there  was  a  trembling 
in  the  camp,  in  the  field,  and  among  all  the  people ;  the  garrison,  and  the 
spoilers,  they  also  trembled;  and  the  earth  quaked:  so  there  was  an 
exceeding  great  trembling. 

And  the  watchmen  of  Saul  in  Gibeah  of  Benjamin  looked ;  and,  behold, 
the  multitude  melted  away,  and  they  went  hither  and  thither.  Then 
said  Saul  unto  the  people  that  were  with  him,  Number  now,  and  see  who  is 
gone  from  us.  And  when  they  had  numbered,  behold,  Jonathan  and  his 


54  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

armorbearer  were  not  there.  And  Saul  said  unto  Ahijah,  Bring  hither 
the  ark  of  God.  For  the  ark  of  God  was  there  at  that  time  with  the  children 
of  Israel.  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  Saul  talked  unto  the  priest,  that 
the  tumult  that  was  in  the  camp  of  the  Philistines  went  on  and  increased : 
and  Saul  said  unto  the  priest,  Withdraw  thy  hand.  And  Saul  and  all  the 
people  that  were  with  him  were  gathered  together,  and  came  to  the  battle : 
and,  behold,  every  man's  sword  was  against  his  fellow,  and  there  was  a 
very  great  discomfiture.  Now  the  Hebrews  that  were  with  the  Philistines 
as  beforetime,  and  that  went  up  with  them  into  the  camp,  from  the 
country  round  about,  even  they  also  turned  to  be  with  the  Israelites  that 
were  with  Saul  and  Jonathan.  Likewise  all  the  men  of  Israel  that  had 
hid  themselves  in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim,  when  they  heard  that 
the  Philistines  fled,  even  they  also  followed  hard  after  them  in  the 
battle.  So  Jehovah  saved  Israel  that  day :  and  the  battle  passed  over  by 
Beth-aven. 

And  the  men  of  Israel  were  distressed  that  day ;  for  Saul  had  adjured 
the  people,  saying,  Cursed  be  the  man  that  eateth  any  food  until  it  be 
evening,  and  I  be  avenged  on  mine  enemies.  So  none  of  the  people  tasted 
food.  And  all  the  people  came  into  the  forest;  and  there  was  honey 
upon  the  ground.  And  when  the  people  were  come  unto  the  forest,  behold, 
the  honey  dropped:  but  no  man  put  his  hand  to  his  mouth;  for  the 
people  feared  the  oath.  But  Jonathan  heard  not  when  his  father  charged 
the  people  with  the  oath :  wherefore  he  put  forth  the  end  of  the  rod  that 
was  in  his  hand,  and  dipped  it  in  the  honeycomb,  and  put  his  hand  to  his 
mouth ;  and  his  eyes  were  enlightened.  Then  answered  one  of  the  people, 
and  said,  Thy  father  straitly  charged  the  people  with  an  oath,  saying, 
Cursed  be  the  man  that  eateth  food  this  day.  And  the  people  were  faint. 
Then  said  Jonathan,  My  father  hath  troubled  the  land :  see,  I  pray  you, 
how  mine  eyes  have  been  enlightened,  because  I  tasted  a  little  of  this 
honey.  How  much  more,  if  haply  the  people  had  eaten  freely  to-day  of 
the  spoil  of  their  enemies  which  they  found  ?  for  now  hath  there  been  no 
great  slaughter  among  the  Philistines. 

And  they  smote  of  the  Philistines  that  day  from  Michmash  to  Aijalon. 
And  the  people  were  very  faint ;  and  the  people  flew  upon  the  spoil,  and 
took  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  calves,  and  slew  them  on  the  ground ;  and  the 
people  did  eat  them  with  the  blood.  Then  they  told  Saul,  saying,  Behold, 
the  people  sin  against  Jehovah,  in  that  they  eat  with  the  blood.  And  he 
said,  Ye  have  dealt  treacherously:  roll  a  great  stone  unto  me  this  day. 
And  Saul  said,  Disperse  yourselves  among  the  people,  and  say  unto  them, 
Bring  me  hither  every  man  his  ox,  and  every  man  his  sheep,  and  slay  them 
here,  and  eat;  and  sin  not  against  Jehovah  in  eating  with  the  blood. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED   PROSE  WRITING        55 

And  all  the  people  brought  every  man  his  ox  with  him  that  night,  and 
slew  them  there.  And  Saul  built  an  altar  unto  Jehovah :  the  same  was 
the  first  altar  that  he  built  unto  Jehovah. 

And  Saul  said,  Let  us  go  down  after  the  Philistines  by  night,  and  take 
spoil  among  them  until  the  morning  light,  and  let  us  not  leave  a  man  of 
them.  And  they  said,  Do  whatsoever  seemeth  good  unto  thee.  Then  said 
the  priest,  Let  us  draw  near  hither  unto  God.  And  Saul  asked  counsel 
of  God,  Shall  I  go  down  after  the  Philistines?  wilt  thou  deliver  them 
into  the  hand  of  Israel  ?  But  he  answered  him  not  that  day.  And  Saul 
said,  Draw  nigh  hither,  all  ye  chiefs  of  the  people;  and  know  and  see 
wherein  this  sin  hath  been  this  day.  For,  as  Jehovah  liveth,  who  saveth 
Israel,  though  it  be  in  Jonathan  my  son,  he  shall  surely  die.  But  there 
was  not  a  man  among  all  the  people  that  answered  him.  Then  said  he 
unto  all  Israel,  Be  ye  on  one  side,  and  I  and  Jonathan  my  son  will  be  on 
the  other  side.  And  the  people  said  unto  Saul,  Do  what  seemeth  good 
unto  thee.  Therefore  Saul  said  unto  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  Show 
the  right.  And  Jonathan  and  Saul  were  taken  by  lot;  but  the  people 
escaped.  And  Saul  said,  Cast  lots  between  me  and  Jonathan  my  son. 
And  Jonathan  was  taken. 

Then  Saul  said  to  Jonathan,  Tell  me  what  thou  hast  done.  And 
Jonathan  told  him,  and  said,  I  did  certainly  taste  a  little  honey  with  the 
end  of  the  rod  that  was  in  my  hand;  and,  lo,  I  must  die.  And  Saul 
said,  God  do  so  and  more  also ;  for  thou  shalt  surely  die,  Jonathan.  And 
the  people  .said  unto  Saul,  Shall  Jonathan  die,  who  hath  wrought  this 
great  salvation  in  Israel  ?  Far  from  it :  as  Jehovah  liveth,  there  shall  not 
one  hair  of  his  head  fall  to  the  ground;  for  he  hath  wrought  with  God 
this  day.  So  the  people  rescued  Jonathan,  that  he  died  not.  Then 
Saul  went  up  from  following  the  Philistines ;  and  the  Philistines  went  to 
their  own  place. 

In  many  respects  this  might  be  styled  one  story,  rather  than  a 
group  of  stories;  one  character  is  central  almost  throughout  and 
one  theme  runs  through  the  whole.  There  is,  too,  an  excellent 
point  of  beginning  and  a  climax  which  leaves  the  mind  at  rest: 
"Then  Saul  went  up  from  following  the  Philistines;  and  the  Philis- 
tines went  to  their  own  place."  Yet  we  note  that  from  the  raid 
on  Michmash  forward,  Saul  ceases  to  be  truly  the  hero.  While 
the  theme,  the  choice  of  Saul  to  deliver  from  the  Philistines, 
continues  to  be  the  same,  the  central  interest  is  now  in  Jonathan, 
his  heroic  exploits  and  his  escape  from  the  tragic  end  which  a 
blind  fate,  or  his  father's  folly,  had  almost  made  inevitable.  It  is 


56  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

better  to  count  this  a  separate  story,  though  an  important  member 
of  the  group. 

The  paragraphs  connecting  this  story  with  that  which  ends  at 
Saul's  formal  recognition  in  Gilgal  may  be  thought  of  as  due  to 
the  collector  of  the  cycle,  for  the  new  story  really  begins,  "Now  it 
fell  upon  a  day  that  Jonathan  the  son  of  Saul."  The  narratives 
of  Saul's  selection  by  Samuel  and  of  the  public  exploit  which  led 
to  his  acknowledgment  by  the  people  may  also  have  been  separate 
stories ;  each  has  its  own  main  event,  and  each  opens  in  a  way  to 
catch  and  fix  the  attention.  The  second  begins,  "Then  Nahash 
the  Ammonite  came  up  and  encamped  against  Jabesh-gilead." 

One  can  hardly  read  this  cycle  of  Saul  stories  for  the  first  time 
without  being  impressed  by  their  "swiftness"  and  "unerring  sense 
of  effective  detail."  1  There  is  constant  action,  and  the  actions 
selected  are  "so  significant  that  each  stage  makes  us  eager  for  the 
next  until  the  attention  is  released  and  the  imagination  satis- 
fied by  the  climax."  2  The  first  Saul  story  occupies  3  pages,  as 
printed  above.  In  this  brief  compass,  we  have  the  introduction  of 
Saul  and  his  family,  the  hunt  for  the  asses,  the  discussion  of  Saul 
with  his  servant,  the  meeting  with  the  maidens,  Samuel's  prepara- 
tion for  the  meeting  with  Saul,  the  meeting,  the  feast,  the  evening 
talk  upon  the  housetop,  the  anointing,  the  foretelling  of  experiences, 
Saul  among  the  prophets,  the  uncle's  questioning,  Saul's  partial 
answer.  Yet  it  is  no  barren  summary  of  events,  nor  is  there 
unpleasant  sense  of  hurry ;  everything  is  told  that  need  be,  and  the 
movement  seems  even  leisurely.  The  stories  of  this  cycle  meet 
the  rhetorician's  formal  tests  of  well-told  tales :  I.  A  central  person 
and  event,  oj  unity  and  climax ;  II.  The  right  beginning  to  fix  the 
attention  and  fix  it  in  a  way  that  leads  on  to  what  is  to  follow ; 
III.  Movement,  which  involves  both  action  and  selection.3 

To  select  the  earliest  strand  of  narrative  in  1  Samuel  15-30  is 
more  difficult  than  in  the  case  of  chapters  9-14.  A  rough  analysis 

1 J.  H.  Gardiner,  The  Bible  as  English  Literature.  The  characteriza- 
tion is  applied  by  Gardiner  to  Israel's  early  prose  as  a  whole. 

2  Charles  Sears  Baldwin,  How  to  Write.  The  phrases  quoted  are  used 
in  a  general  discussion  of  the  qualities  of  good  prose  as  exemplified  in  the 
Bible. 

*  Baldwin,  How  to  Write. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED   PROSE   WRITING         57 

will  give  16  14^,  18  6-13-  2(«9a,  19  u'17,  21  M,  22  ^  2-  ™,  23  "*, 
25,  27-2S2,  29-30  as  the  earliest  group  of  narratives  concerning 
David  and  Saul  in  their  tangled  relations.  Possibly  some  material 
should  be  added  to  that  selected,  and,  quite  certainly,  some  clauses 
should  be  excised,  as  due  to  an  editor  who  united  this  early  cycle 
with  a  later;  but  these  sections  give  a  generally  self -consistent 
group  of  stories.  Saul  is  not  the  hero  here ;  David  is  everywhere 
the  central  figure.  We  shall  not  go  far  astray,  if  we  assign  the 
former  stories,  hi  their  origin,  to  Saul's  own  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and 
these  to  Judah;  though  it  may  well  be  that  the  two  cycles  hi 
which  Saul  was  prominent  were  already  combined  as  a  single 
document  before  they  came  to  form  a  part  of  one  of  the  two  great 
histories  which  were  ultimately  interwoven  to  form  our  books  of 
Samuel. 

The  whole  group  has  the  unity  of  a  central  theme,  but  what  the 
climax  shall  be  depends  upon  the  point  at  which  we  separate  it 
from  the  next  group.  If  we  look  at  it  as  primarily  the  story  of 
David's  struggle  with  Saul,  the  natural  conclusion  and  climax  is 
found  hi  the  first  chapter  of  2  Samuel.1 

The  writer  of  this  cycle,  if  he  included  David's  Lament  over 
Saul  and  Jonathan,  professedly  had  a  written  source  for  one  bit, 
namely,  the  Book  of  Jashar  (2  Samuel  I18),  although,  as  in  the 
history  of  Saul's  establishment  in  the  kingdom,  the  document,  as  a 
whole,  is  close  to  the  oral  tradition.  The  insertion  of  poems,  such 
as  David's  laments,  in  early  prose  narratives  finds  analogy  in 
the  Saxon  Chronicle,  where  we  read,  for  example,  the  lyric  celebrat- 
ing the  victory  of  ^Ethelstan  at  Brunanburh,  inserted  under  the 
year  937. 

Equally  with  the  Saul  cycle,  this  group  of  narratives  would 
fully  meet  the  formal  tests  of  well-told  stories.  The  opening 
(1614ft)  is,  "Now  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  departed  from  Saul,  and 
an  evil  spirit  from  Jehovah  troubled  him,  and  Saul's  servants  said 
unto  him,  Behold  now,  an  evil  spirit  from  God  troubleth  thee. 
Let  our  lord  now  command  thy  servants,  that  are  before  thee,  to 
seek  out  a  man  who  is  a  skilful  player  on  the  harp :  and  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  when  the  evil  spirit  from  God  is  upon  thee,  that  he 

1  The  division  between  1  and  2  Samuel  is  late  and  not  particularly 
happy. 


58  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

shall  play  with  his  hand,  and  thou  shalt  be  well."  It  was  this  sad 
change  in  Saul,  recorded  so  simply,  that  brought  David  into  the 
king's  household  and  led  on  to  the  whole  series  of  entanglements. 
In  beginning,  in  unity,  and  in  progress,  the  stories  offer  little  oppor- 
tunity for  aught  but  intellectual  and  aesthetic  satisfaction.  Yet 
some  stand  out  with  especial  distinction,  as  the  sack  of  Ziklag  and 
David's  consequent  pursuit  of  the  Amalekites,  and  the  story  of 
David,  Nabal,  and  Abigail.  In  the  one,  we  have  rapid  action  with 
a  quick  succession  of  sharply  drawn  pictures  —  the  little  city 
where  fire  and  rapine  have  done  their  work;  the  maddened 
followers  ready  to  stone  David;  the  inquiry  of  Jehovah  by  the 
priest  with  the  ephod ;  the  heart-breaking  pursuit  that  proved  too 
swift  for  fully  one-third  of  the  men ;  the  finding  of  the  famished 
Egyptian;  the  camp  of  the  Amalekites  in  revelry;  the  smiting 
and  recovery ;  the  establishment  at  the  brook  Besor  of  the  ordi- 
nance concerning  the  division  of  the  spoil;  the  distribution  of 
gifts  to  the  elders  of  Judah  and  neighboring  clans.  In  the  other, 
there  is  chiefly  dialogue  in  which,  despite  the  conventional  phrases 
of  oriental  courtesy,  character  is  distinctly  revealed.  Few  scenes 
show  more  clearly  the  true  David,  but  he  is  not  the  chief  figure  of 
this  story.  The  interest  centres  rather  in  "Abigail,  wife  of  'the 
fool,'  Nabal,  such  a  fearless,  self-possessed,  gracious  woman  as  is 
not  often  met."  The  gentle  power  of  the  woman  that  so  quickly 
calmed  and  wrought  sweet  reasonableness  in  the  soul  of  David, 
the  outlaw  chief,  hot  for  vengeance,  must  have  been  deeply  felt 
throughout  the  generations.  It  has  remained  for  a  woman,  writing 
in  the  twentieth  century  A.D.,  to  put  into  words  a  most  sympathetic 
interpretation  of  this  woman  of  the  eleventh  century  B.C. 
Elaborating  the  fine  characterization  quoted  above,  this  writer 
goes  on:  "Not  in  all  the  Old  Testament,  hardly  in  all  eastern 
literature,  is  there  another  speech  of  woman  so  dignified,  appro- 
priate, and  winning  as  the  words  Abigail  addressed  to  David  to 
restrain  him  from  avenging  himself  with  his  own  hand.  There  is 
all  the  loyalty  of  the  wife  who,  though  mated  with  a  clown,  is  yet 
true  to  him.  '  Upon  me,  my  Lord,  upon  me  be  the  iniquity,  for  my 
husband  is  not  accountable,  being  Nabal  —  a  fool.'  There  is  all 
the  fearlessness  of  the  woman  who,  though  in  danger,  is  mistress  of 
the  situation,  able  to  remind  the  freebooting  chieftain  how  un- 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED   PROSE  WRITING         59 

worthy  of  him  it  would  be  to  avenge  himself  with  his  own  hand. 
There  is  all  the  discretion  and  tact  of  a  woman  entirely  mistress 
of  herself  and  perspicacious  as  to  the  character  of  him  to  whom  her 
plea  was  addressed,  in  her  promise  that  when  at  last  better  days 
should  have  dawned  —  David's  soul  'bound  in  the  bundle  of  life 
with  Jehovah,  and  the  souls  of  his  enemies  slung  out  by  God  as 
from  the  hollow  of  a  sling' — then  'this  shall  be  no  grief  unto 
thee,  nor  offence  of  heart  unto  my  lord,  either  that  thou  hast  shed 
blood  causeless  or  that  my  lord  hath  avenged  himself.' " x 

In  the  David-Saul  stories,  the  interest  of  each  is  well  led  up  to 
the  climax,  and  is  led  on,  too,  through  the  successive  narratives,  till 
the  hero  reaches  the  most  critical  point  when  escape  from  fighting 
against  his  own  people  seems  impossible.  David  is  the  trusted 
vassal  of  one  of  the  Philistine  kings,  having  been  forced  to  flee 
from  all  Saul's  domain.  The  Philistines  are  mustering  all  their 
forces  for  a  united  effort  to  establish  once  more  the  dominance  that 
Saul  has  broken,  and  David  and  his  men  come  perforce  to  the  great 
muster  in  the  train  of  their  liege  lord  Achish.  What  is  David  to 
do  in  the  crisis  ?  The  story  gives  an  unexpected  release  from  the 
entanglement  that  a  moment  before  seemed  hopeless.  David 
carries  out  his  assumed  role  with  consummate  bravado,  and  then 
turns  back  with  his  six  hundred  followers. 

No  better  example  could  be  found  of  the  simple  objectiveness  of 
early  stories  in  contrast  to  the  conscious  psychological  analysis 
characteristic  of  modern  writers.  One  may  note  this  objectivity 
in  any  early  literature,  whether  it  be  in  Greece,  or  our  own  England, 
or  the  land  of  Israel.  Is  it  not  equally  characteristic  of  Beowulf, 
the  Iliad,  or  JEneid,  and  the  David-Saul  stories?  "Brave  deeds 
nobly  done,  but  with  few  reflections  concerning  them"  might 
characterize  any  one  of  these  immortal  tales  almost  as  well  as 
another.2  A  modern  student  of  Biblical  literature  has  drawn  an 
effective  contrast  between  Browning's  picture  of  David's  inner 
struggles  as  he  goes  to  play  before  Saul  in  one  of  his  terrible  moods, 
and  the  simple,  objective  narrative  of  our  early  document.  He 
remarks  that  "the  thought  of  the  East  was  essentially  simple.  It 

1  Louise  Seymour  Houghton,  Hebrew  Life  and  Thought,  pp.  157-158. 
1  The  characterization  is  that  given  of  Beowulf  in  The  Cambridge  His- 
tory of  English  Literature,  Vol.  I,  p.  47. 


60  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

knew  only  the  objective  and  solid  facts  of  which  man  has  direct 
sensation,  and  the  simple  and  primitive  emotions  which  are  his 
reactions  to  them.  It  has  no  perception  of  the  subtler  shades  and 
shadows  of  feeling  in  which  modern  writers  delight,  nor  of  the 
complicated  webs  of  thought  which  grow  from  men's  efforts  to 
reason  out  the  universe." l 

Returning  to  David's  strange  plight  at  Aphek,  we  may  speculate 
whimsically  as  to  how  Browning,  or  Mrs.  Ward,  or  even  George 
Eliot  would  have  revelled  in  depicting  the  conflicting  emotions 
of  the  hero  of  the  tale.  The  old  story  gives  us  a  dramatic  scene 
—  Achish  and  the  princes  of  the  Philistines  in  heated  discussion, 
and  then  Achish  and  David;  but  psychological  analysis?  Far 
be  it  from  the  unspoiled  story-teller  of  early  East  or  early  West ! 

The  story  of  the  sack  of  Ziklag  follows.  While  intense  enough 
in  itself,  it  seems,  in  relation  to  the  whole,  an  interlude,  occupying 
the  time  while  the  army  of  Israel  is  in  its  death  struggle  miles 
away.  In  its  closing  scene,  however,  when  David  sends  gifts  of 
the  booty  to  the  elders  of  Judah  and  the  neighboring  clans,  it 
throws  much  light  on  the  course  that  led  David  so  soon  to  the 
throne  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  Hebrew  confederation. 
The  vivid  narrative  of  David's  receiving  the  news  of  Saul's  death 
follows,  and  his  noble  dirge  may  have  formed  the  conclusion  —  it 
would  have  been  a  strong  and  fitting  one  —  of  the  original  David- 
Saul  cycle  of  stories. 

As  was  noticed  in  Chapter  III,  the  military  leader  selected  by 
Samuel  proved  the  right  man  to  crystallize  diffused  enthusiasm 
into  sudden  action,  but  he  did  not  add  the  qualities  on  which  stable 
results  could  rest.  He  and  his  house  went  down  to  ruin,  to  be 
followed  by  a  dashing  leader  who  had  also  much  of  the  tact  and 
patience  of  the  true  statesman.  This  one  was,  it  is  true,  a  child  of 
his  age,  ethically  immature  and  superstitious  in  religion,  but 
intensely  loyal  to  the  God  of  Israel  as  he  understood  such  loyalty. 
He  was  a  leader  who  so  attached  his  personal  followers  that,  even 
when  his  cause  was  in  desperate  case,  his  sigh  for  a  draught  of 

1 J.  H.  Gardiner,  The  English  Bible  as  Literature,  p.  86.  As  indicated 
in  the  text,  this  admirable  description  seems  to  fit  early  occidental  litera- 
ture equally  well. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING        61 

water  from  the  old  home  spring  was  answered  at  the  jeopardy  of 
life.  To  the  power  of  inspiring  blind  devotion,  characteristic  of 
the  born  leader  of  men,  he  added  the  wisdom  of  a  Washington, 
recognizing  that  "we  must  use  men  as  they  are,  not  as  we  would 
have  them"  —  witness  the  efficient  service  that  was  his  through 
all  his  long  reign  from  that  bloody  brute,  but  consummate  fighter, 
Joab. 

After  years  of  struggle,  David's  skill  in  allaying  jealousies,  and 
the  military  ability  at  his  command,  gave  him  the  rule  over  a 
fairly  united  people.  In  desperate  struggle,  the  hegemony  of 
the  Philistines  was  thrown  off;  by  a  quick  assault  the  natural 
stronghold  of  Jerusalem  was  captured  from  the  Canaanites,  who 
had  held  it  all  through  the  loose  rule  of  Saul.  This  neutral, 
defensible  place,  lying  between  the  mutually  jealous  northern  and 
southern  tribes,  was  chosen  as  the  political  capital  and  was  started 
toward  its  age-long  religious  preeminence  by  the  bringing  of  the 
ancient  ark.  The  neighboring  peoples  to  the  south,  east,  and 
north  were  subdued  or  entered  into  alliance,  and  the  brief  era  of 
Israel's  national  glory  and  peace  was  begun. 

Within  the  king's  motley  family,  the  wives,  incident  to  marriage 
alliances  with  various  tribes  and  clans,  and  their  sons,  furnished  the 
conditions  necessary  for  bitter  rivalry,  *  intrigue,  and  tragedy. 
The  man  whose  native  talents  had  raised  him  from  obscurity  and 
outlawry  to  the  rule  of  the  kingdom,  which  he  had  himself  welded, 
saw  no  reason  why  he  should  not  take  to  himself  any  woman  that 
he  would.  Under  the  influence  of  one  of  those  unique  personalities 
whose  work  made  Israel  ultimately  the  world's  teacher,  he  repented 
deeply,  it  is  true,  but  his  eldest  son  followed  the  course  of  his  sin 
rather  than  his  penitence.  The  fire  kindled  burst  out  repeatedly 
and  could  not  be  quenched. 

The  dramatic  incidents  of  David's  court  life,  which  resulted  in 
the  murder  of  Amnon,  the  rebellion  and  death  of  Absalom,  the 
birth  of  Solomon,  the  judicial  murder  of  Adonijah,  and  the  final 
establishment  of  Solomon  on  the  throne,  furnished  the  material  for 
a  remarkable  narrative.  This  now  forms  essentially  chapters 
9-20  of  2  Samuel  and  1  and  2  of  1  Kings.  It  is  universally 
acknowledged  as  bearing  all  the  marks  of  a  substantially  contem- 
poraneous record.  It  is  singularly  free  from  unconscious  allusions 


62  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

to  subsequent  conditions  and  other  anachronisms  that  almost 
inevitably  betray  the  later  hand,  as  well  as  from  those  legendary 
accretions  by  which  oral  transmission  is  so  sure  to  show  itself. 
Yet  it  is  no  mere  chronicle  kept  from  month  to  month  or  year  to 
year;  it  is  the  finished  work  of  one  who  looks  back  from  a  time 
at  least  as  late  as  Solomon's  reign  and  sees  the  events  of  David's 
court  life  in  perspective  and  in  their  ultimate  issue.  Perhaps  the 
story  was  written  during  the  reign  of  Solomon,  though  hardly 
with  the  king's  knowledge  and  sanction ;  if  after  Solomon's  death, 
it  seems  a  little  strange  that  the  writer  betrays  no  knowledge  of  the 
division  of  the  kingdom. 

In  picturesque  details  and  charming  side  touches,  the  narrative 
shows  all  the  marks  of  the  unspoiled  story-teller,  accustomed  to  the 
quick,  responsive  appreciation  of  simple,  childlike  listeners.  It  is 
the  story-teller  who  relieves  the  strain  between  the  account  of 
Joab's  cold-blooded  slaughter  of  Absalom  and  David's  pathetic 
grief,  by  the  story  of  the  foot-race  between  the  Cushite  runner 
sent  by  Joab  and  the  eager  Ahimaaz  who,  though  handicapped  at 
the  start,  outruns  the  Cushite.  We  seem  to  see  almost  a  hint  of 
tender  sentiment  in  Joab  as  he  tries  to  dissuade  Ahimaaz  from 
running  with  the  unwelcome  tidings.1  It  is  the  story-teller  who 
takes  us  suddenly  to  David  sitting  between  the  two  gates  and  the 
watchman  on  the  roof  of  the  gate.  He  delays  just  long  enough 
with  the  coming  of  one  runner  into  sight  and  then  the  other,  and 
the  questioning  conversation  of  David  and  the  watchman,  before 
he  lets  the  blow  fall  on  the  head  of  the  father,  more  concerned  for 
the  fate  of  his  handsome,  wayward  son  than  for  his  kingdom.  It 
is  the  raconteur,  too,  who  says,  "But  when  David  saw  that  his 
servants  were  whispering  together,  David  perceived  that  the  child 
was  dead,"2  or  again,  "The  woman  took  and  spread  the  covering 
over  the  well's  mouth,  and  strewed  bruised  grain  thereon;  and 
nothing  was  known." 3 

In  sharp  contrast  with  the  stories  considered  in  the  present 
chapter,  the  prose  narratives  of  events  antedating  the  rise  of  the 
monarchy  bear  the  marks  of  a  considerable  period  of  oral  trans- 
mission, and  this  accords  with  other  facts  which  suggest  that  we 
are  not  far  from  the  beginning  of  connected  prose  writing  in  ancient 
1  2  Samuel  18  19~23.  2  2  Samuel  12 19.  3  Samuel  17 19. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING        63 

Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  the  comparative  complexity  of  the 
story  of  David's  court  and  family  life  shows  a  conscious  literary 
art  that  may  imply  predecessors  for  our  narrative,  which  have  left 
no  other  trace  of  their  existence. 

The  working  out  of  the  plot  in  the  interplay  of  its  parts  is  worth 
noting  in  detail.  At  the  outset,  Jonathan's  surviving  son, 
Meribaal,  appears  in  a  vivid  scene,  which  has  a  certain  significance 
in  itself  as  revealing  the  character  and  temper  of  David  early  in 
his  reign,  but  seems  to  have  no  especial  connection  with  the  story 
as  a  whole,  until  troubles  are  clouding  thick  about  the  old  monarch 
fleeing  from  a  people  in  rebellion.  Finally,  in  the  epilogue  of  the 
long  Absalom  incident,  Meribaal  appears  again  in  a  sharply  drawn 
picture,  which  still  leaves  us  wondering  whether  his  servant  Ziba 
was  a  blackguard  or  Meribaal  was  a  snivelling  ingrate.  Perhaps 
the  writer  did  not  know ;  evidently  David  did  not,  and  so  settled 
their  affairs  with  a  compromise,  giving  each  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt.  This  side  story  throws  light  upon  David's  character  and 
purposes  at  the  three  significant  points  where  it  appears ;  it  serves 
to  darken  the  hour  of  his  misfortune  and  to  help  complete  the 
picture  of  his  general  magnanimous,  though  rather  rough-handed 
justice,  at  the  time  of  restoration  to  the  throne. 

The  central  story  begins  with  the  political  action  of  sending 
ambassadors  to  Hanun,  the  new  king  of  Ammon.  Does  the  writer 
have  a  certain  appreciation  of  the  coarse  humor  in  the  insult  given 
David  by  the  treatment  of  his  representatives?  He  tells  the 
incident  with  frank  detail,  at  any  rate.  The  Hanun  incident 
leads  on  to  the  Ammonite  war,  and  this  to  the  story  of  Uriah  and 
Bathsheba,  from  which  comes  the  narrative  of  the  birth  of  Solomon, 
whose  secure  settlement  upon  the  throne  will  be  the  conclusion 
of  this  entire  narrative.  This  can  be  achieved  only  after  the 
removal  of  the  older  sons,  Amnon  and  Absalom,  and  all  that 
involves  a  complicated  chain  of  events.  Amnon,  the  elder,  wrongs 
Absalom's  sister.  After  two  years  of  waiting,  Absalom  takes 
bloody  vengeance.  David's  dealing  with  this  matter  eventuates, 
years  later,  in  Absalom's  rebellion  and  death.  David's  restora- 
tion is  followed  almost  immediately  by  the  account  of  the  closing 
scenes  of  his  life.  The  introduction  of  the  beautiful  Shunammite 
prepares  for  the  ultimate  removal  by  death  of  Solomon's  elder 


64  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

brother,  Adonijah,  whose  ill-starred  attempt  to  secure  the  throne 
is  frustrated  by  Nathan  and  Bathsheba. 

Many  characters  have  each  their  part  to  play,  and  many  striking 
scenes  exhibit  the  long  and  complex  series  of  events  necessary  to 
unfold  the  story.  Joab  the  general,  Nathan  the  prophet,  the  wise 
woman  of  Tekoa,  Hushai  the  shrewd  counsellor  and  wily  rhetorician, 
and  many  more  appear  in  clear-cut  and  significant  scenes  or  furnish 
material  for  subordinate  plots  that  in  themselves  are  full  of  deep 
human  interest.  How  tragic,  for  example,  is  the  brief  story  of  the 
wise,  gentle,  beautiful  Tamar  !  How  living  is  the  scene  where  the 
wise  woman  of  Tekoa  tells  her  skilfully  concocted  story  to  David, 
and  the  shrewd  old  king,  after  hearing  her  through,  asks,  "Is  the 
hand  of  Joab  with  thee  in  all  this?"  The  modern  novel  hardly 
offers  a  greater  number  of  clearly  differentiated  characters  or  a 
greater  variety  of  conflicting  purposes  and  significant  incidents 
than  we  find  interwoven  and  worked  out  to  an  issue  in  this  early 
narrative  of  ancient  Israel. 

The  various  scenes  depend  for  their  sustained  interest  more 
upon  the  interplay  of  well-drawn  characters  than  upon  shifting 
scenery.  The  value  of  variety  in  setting  is  not  overlooked,  but 
the  writer  spends  little  more  time  on  the  careful  painting  of  the 
background  than  was  given  in  the  Shakespearean  theatre;  he 
permits  his  readers  some  imagination.  He  uses  very  sparingly,  in 
his  own  person,  those  picturesque  touches  from  animal  life  and 
nature's  processes,  so  instinctive  with  the  rural  bred ;  but  when  he 
makes  the  orator  Hushai  speak,  within  five  verses,  there  are  com- 
parisons with  a  bear  robbed  of  her  whelps,  the  heart  of  a  lion,  the 
sand  for  multitude,  and  the  dew  falling  on  the  ground. 

We  have  been  considering  the  selection  and  arrangement  of 
material  as  bearing  upon  the  central  theme  of  Solomon's  secure 
establishment  upon  the  throne  with  all  possible  claimants  removed ; 
but  the  narrative  is  not  merely  of  interest  as  a  dramatic  account 
of  important  historical  events.  The  moral  and  religious  aspect  of 
the  events  is  felt  throughout ;  and  it  is  noticeable,  as  we  see  in  the 
case  of  other  early  narratives,  that  the  writer  has  no  hard  and  fast 
theory  of  providential  government  to  illustrate  from  the  history, 
and  no  mechanical,  ecclesiastical  ideals  to  uphold.  Both  of  these 
tendencies,  which  so  largely  color  the  Old  Testament  history  in  its 


BEGINNINGS  OF  CONNECTED  PROSE  WRITING          65 

final  form,  appear  only  in  later  ages.  In  this  early  story,  the 
simple  comment  upon  David's  conduct  in  the  matter  of  Bathsheba 
and  Uriah  is  "The  thing  that  David  had  done  displeased  Jehovah." 
Then  Nathan  is  introduced,  rousing,  with  homely  parable,  the 
king's  native  sense  of  justice,  and  adding  to  this  an  appeal  to  his 
strong  religious  sense,  "Wherefore  hast  thou  despised  the  word  of 
Jehovah  to  do  that  which  is  evil  in  his  sight?"  "By  this  deed 
thou  hast  given  great  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  Jehovah  to 
blaspheme."  The  terrible  tragedy  of  lust  unbridled,  leading  on 
inevitably  to  wretched  woe,  unfolds  without  any  obtrusive  pointing 
of  the  moral  in  such  a  way  that  the  facts  speak  their  own  high 
lesson. 

How  far  the  writer  may  have  entered  into  philosophizing  upon 
the  cause  and  effect  of  it  all  we  cannot  be  sure.  We  do  feel, 
however,  that  the  events  are  recorded  by  one  to  whom  religion  has 
begun  to  be  ethical.  Occasionally  his  childlike  faith  in  the  direct 
control  of  God  is  definitely  expressed,  as  in  the  statement  "Jehovah 
had  ordained  to  defeat  the  good  counsel  of  Ahithophel,  to  the 
intent  that  Jehovah  might  bring  evil  upon  Absalom."  Even  such 
expressions  as  this  are  rare  in  this  grandly  simple  and  impressive 
narrative  of  men  and  events. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   GREAT   JUDEAN   HISTORY 

(Before  800  B.C.) 

EVEN  while  David  lived,  jealousies  between  the  northern  and 
southern  tribes  threatened  dissolution  of  the  union.  A  policy  of 
centralization  with  the  establishment  of  fortresses  at  strategic 
points  made  secession  impossible  during  the  reign  of  Solomon. 
Yet,  before  Solomon's  death,  an  able  young  officer  whom  he  had 
put  in  charge  of  the  task-work  of  the  great  tribe  of  Ephraim 
"lifted  up  his  hand  against  the  king"  and  then  fled  to  Egypt,  where 
he  was  harbored  by  Shishak.  This  Pharaoh  represented  a  new 
dynasty  with  ambitions  for  foreign  conquest,  and  his  reception  of 
Jeroboam  was  ominous.  Within  Israel  itself,  prophets  of  the  type 
that  had  loyally  served  and  dared  to  rebuke  David  turned  away 
from  Solomon  in  despair;  one  of  them  enkindled,  we  are  told, 
the  thought  of  future  rule  in  the  heart  of  Jeroboam.1 

Looking  back  over  the  centuries  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  divi- 
sion of  the  kingdom  was  inevitable,  unless  Solomon  should  leave 
a  son  of  consummate  tact  or  iron  hand.  When  the  separation 
came,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  land,  the  people,  and  the 
natural  wealth  of  all  sorts  fell  to  Jeroboam.  A  large  portion  also 
of  the  patriotic  and  religious  memories  and  traditions  were  the 
especial  heritage  of  the  northern  kingdom.  Even  the  sanctuaries 
at  Dan  and  Bethel  had  been  places  of  worship  for  Israel  far  longer 
than  the  Temple  mount.  The  separation  of  Northern  Israel 
from  Judah  probably  had  behind  it  the  forces  of  religious  conser- 
vatism, as  well  as  the  political  conservatism  that  protested  against 
a  despotism  new  to  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Shishak  of  Egypt  soon 
plundered  the  accumulated  wealth  of  Jerusalem;  yet  Judah  has 
her  advantages,  which  in  the  ultimate  issue  will  prove  the  more 

1 1  Kings  11  *«•. 
66 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  67 

vital.  Her  land  is  relatively  compact,  sheltered,  and  defensible, 
and  her  reigning  house  firmly  established  on  the  throne.  In  the 
generations  to  come,  Northern  Israel  will  have  to  bear  the  first 
attacks  of  Syria  and  Assyria  from  without,  and  within  will  pass 
'through  revolution  after  revolution.  In  Judah  the  Temple  will 
become  more  and  more  a  unifying  and  inspiring  force;  while 
already,  at  the  tune  of  the  division,  there  is  in  the  south  a  literary 
culture  which  will  give  the  people  a  means  of  preserving  and 
developing  ideals  only  tardily  won  in  the  north. 
..  There  was  much  material  for  literature  in  the  north,  but  we 
cannot  ascribe  any  prose  writing  of  Northern  Israel  to  the  first 
century  of  her  independent  existence.  In  the  first  half  century, 
times  were  often  troublous.  Jeroboam  ruled  seventeen  years,  but 
his  son,  after  only  two  years'  reign,  was  assassinated  by  the  com- 
mander of  the  army,  who  made  himself  king.  This  monarch, 
Baasha,  made  alliance  with  Damascus  against  Judah,  Solomon's 
great-grandson,  then  reigning  in  Judah,  bought  off  the  ally,  who 
proceeded  to  attack  Israel.  Baasha's  son  ruled  only  two  years 
when  he  was  killed.  The  able  general  of  the  army,  Omri,  soon 
overcame  the  assassin  and  established  a  dynasty  that  lasted  nearly 
fifty  years  and  won  considerable  power  for  Northern  Israel.  The 
rule  of  this  new  line  coincided  substantially  with  the  second  half 
of  the  first  century.  This  period  was  one  of  much  foreign  warfare, 
sometimes  successful,  but  often  very  disastrous  to  Israel.  On 
the  whole,  the  conditions  were  unfavorable  for  literary  develop- 
ment, though  there  may  have  been  some  writings  now  lost. 
References  in  Kings  indicate  that  at  least  state  annals  were  kept. 

In  Judah,  in  spite  of  some  warfare,  prose  literature  grew  from 
generation  to  generation.  Royal  annals  which  had  been  begun 
under  the  United  Kingdom  were  carried  forward,  while  true  prose 
literature  developed  through  the  gathering  of  oral  traditions  and 
written  fragments  from  the  past  into  a  great  narrative  work  that 
sought  to  trace  history  back  to  the  beginning  of  man's  life  on 
earth. 

In  the  previous  chapter,  the  analogy  between  the  growth  of  the 
early  historical  narratives  of  England  and  Israel  was  not 
completed.  In  addition  to  successive  compilations,  revisions, 
and  continuations  forward,  paralleled  in  Israel's  writing,  the 


68  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

progress  of  historical  composition  in  England  showed  successive 
extensions  backward  —  to  Caesar's  conquest,  to  the  creation.  In 
the  great  Judean  history  of  the  ninth  century  B.C.,  writers  of 
Judah  attempted  for  their  nation  that  which  Florence  of  Worcester 
undertook  in  the  England  of  the  twelfth  century  A.D.  For  the 
early  millenniums  the  English  narrative  was  the  Hebrew,  borrowed 
by  Christian  England.  Here  the  analogy  of  spontaneous  growth 
is  interrupted,  since  the  English  history  is  only  an  imitation  and 
reproduction  of  the  Hebrew.  There  seems  to  be  no  adequate 
parallel,  in  any  early  literature,  to  the  great  effort  made  in  Judah, 
in  the  century  after  Solomon's  death,  to  tell  the  story  of  the  past. 
With  all  our  admiration  for  the  intellect  of  the  Greeks,  we  must 
admit  that  it  never  set  itself  this  noble  task  on  any  such  compre- 
hensive plan  as  that  of  the  early  Judean  writers.1 

Probably  the  Judean  writers  at  first  reached  back  from  the  rise 
of  the  monarchy  only  to  the  era  of  the  conquest  and  settlement 
and  gathered  into  a  written  document  the  heroic  tales  of  the 
deliverers  whom  we  call  Judges.  Their  narrative  was  free  from 
that  rigid  interpretation  of  the  events  given  in  our  present  book 
of  Judges.2  Like  the  early  Saul  and  David  stories,  these  stories 
were  told  in  free,  spontaneous  form,  with  little  of  reflective  inter- 
pretation. One  example  will  indicate  the  general  literary  charac- 
ter of  all. 

Because  of  Midian  the  children  of  Israel  made  them  the  dens  which  are 
in  the  mountains,  and  the  caves,  and  the  strongholds.  And  so  it  was, 
when  Israel  had  sown,  that  the  Midianites  came  up,  and  the  Amalekites, 
and  the  children  of  the  east ;  they  came  up  against  them ;  and  they  en- 
camped against  them,  and  destroyed  the  increase  of  the  earth,  till  thou 
come  unto  Gaza,  and  left  no  sustenance  in  Israel,  neither  sheep,  nor  ox,  nor 
ass.  For  they  came  up  with  their  cattle  and  their  tents ;  they  came  in  as 
locusts  for  multitude ;  both  they  and  their  camels  were  without  number : 
and  they  came  into  the  land  to  destroy  it.  And  Israel  was  brought  very 
low  because  of  Midian: 

And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  came,  and  sat  under  the  oak  which  was  in 
Ophrah,  that  pertained  unto  Joash  the  Abiezrite :  and  his  son  Gideon 

1  As  Eduard  Meyer  states,  true  historical  literature  had  a  wholly  inde- 
pendent origin  only  among  the  Israelites  and  Greeks  (Geschichte  des  Alter- 
turns,  II  (1910),  §  131). 

2  See  Chapter  XVIII. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  69 

was  beating  out  wheat  in  the  winepress,  to  hide  it  from  the  Midianites. 
And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  appeared  unto  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Jehovah 
is  with  thee,  thou  mighty  man  of  valor.  And  Gideon  said  unto  him, 
Oh,  my  lord,  if  Jehovah  is  with  us,  why  then  is  all  this  befallen  us  ?  and 
where  are  all  his  wondrous  works  which  our  fathers  told  us  of,  saying, 
Did  not  Jehovah  bring  us  up  from  Egypt  ?  but  now  Jehovah  hath  cast  us 
off,  and  delivered  us  into  the  hand  of  Midian.  And  Jehovah  looked  upon 
him,  and  said,  Go  in  this  thy  might,  and  save  Israel  from  the  hand  of 
Midian :  have  not  I  sent  thee  ?  And  he  said  unto  him,  Oh,  Lord,  where- 
with shall  I  save  Israel?  behold,  my  family  is  the  poorest  in  Manasseh, 
and  I  am  the  least  in  my  father's  house.  And  Jehovah  said  unto  him, 
Surely  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  Midianites  as  one  man. 
And  he  said  unto  him,  If  now  I  have  found  favor  hi  thy  sight,  then  show 
me  a  sign  that  it  is  thou  that  talkest  with  me.  Depart  not  hence,  I  pray 
thee,  until  I  come  unto  thee,  and  bring  forth  my  present,  and  lay  it  before 
thee.  And  he  said,  I  will  tarry  until  thou  come  again. 

And  Gideon  went  in,  and  made  ready  a  kid,  and  unleavened  cakes  of 
an  ephah  of  meal :  the  flesh  he  put  in  a  basket,  and  he  put  the  broth  in  a 
pot,  and  brought  it  out  unto  him  under  the  oak,  and  presented  it.  And 
the  angel  of  God  said  unto  him,  Take  the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes, 
and  lay  them  upon  this  rock,  and  pour  out  the  broth.  And  he  did  so. 
Then  the  angel  of  Jehovah  put  forth  the  end  of  the  staff  that  was  in  his 
hand,  and  touched  the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes;  and  there  went 
up  fire  out  of  the  rock,  and  consumed  the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes ; 
and  the  angel  of  Jehovah  departed  out  of  his  sight.  And  Gideon  saw 
that  he  was  the  angel  of  Jehovah ;  and  Gideon  said,  Alas,  0  Lord  Jehovah  ! 
forasmuch  as  I  have  seen  the  angel  of  Jehovah  face  to  face.  And  Jehovah 
said  unto  him,  Peace  be  unto  thee ;  fear  not :  thou  shalt  not  die.  Then 
Gideon  built  an  altar  there  unto  Jehovah,  and  called  it  Jehovah-shalom : 
unto  this  day  it  is  yet  hi  Ophrah  of  the  Abiezrites. 

But  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  came  upon  Gideon ;  and  he  blew  a  trumpet ; 
and  Abiezer  was  gathered  together  after  him. 

And  Gideon  came  to  the  Jordan,  and  passed  over,  he,  and  the  three 
hundred  men  that  were  with  him,  faint,  yet  pursuing.  And  he  said  unto 
the  men  of  Succoth,  Give,  I  pray  you,  loaves  of  bread  unto  the  people 
that  follow  me ;  for  they  are  faint,  and  I  am  pursuing  after  Zebah  and 
Zalmunna,  the  kings  of  Midian.  And  the  princes  of  Succoth  said,  Are 
the  hands  of  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  now  hi  thy  hand,  that  we  should  give 
bread  unto  thine  army?  And  Gideon  said,  Therefore  when  Jehovah 
hath  delivered  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  into  my  hand,  then  I  will  tear  your 
flesh  with  the  thorns  of  the  wilderness  and  with  briers.  And  he  went  up 


70  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

thence  to  Penuel,  and  spake  unto  them  in  like  manner ;  and  the  men  of 
Penuel  answered  him  as  the  men  of  Succoth  had  answered.  And  he  spake 
also  unto  the  men  of  Penuel,  saying,  When  I  come  again  in  peace,  I  will 
break  down  this  tower. 

Now  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  were  in  Karkor,  and  their  hosts  with  them, 
about  fifteen  thousand  men,  all  that  were  left  of  all  the  host  of  the  children 
of  the  east ;  for  there  fell  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  that  drew 
sword.  And  Gideon  went  up  by  the  way  of  them  that  dwelt  in  tents  on 
the  east  of  Nobah  and  Jogbehah,  and  smote  the  host ;  for  the  host  was 
secure.  And  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  fled;  and  he  pursued  after  them; 
and  he  took  the  two  kings  of  Midian,  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  and  discom- 
fited all  the  host. 

And  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash  returned  from  the  battle  from  the  ascent 
of  Heres.  And  he  caught  a  young  man  of  the  men  of  Succoth,  and  in- 
quired of  him :  and  he  described  for  him  the  princes  of  Succoth,  and  the 
elders  thereof,  seventy  and  seven  men.  And  he  came  unto  the  men  of 
Succoth,  and  said,  Behold  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  concerning  whom  ye 
did  taunt  me,  saying,  Are  the  hands  of  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  now  in  thy 
hand,  that  we  should  give  bread  unto  thy  men  that  are  weary  ?  And  he 
took  the  elders  of  the  city,  and  thorns  of  the  wilderness  and  briers,  and 
with  them  he  taught  the  men  of  Succoth.  And  he  brake  down  the  tower 
of  Penuel,  and  slew  the  men  of  the  city. 

Then  said  he  unto  Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  What  manner  of  men  were 
they  whom  ye  slew  at  Tabor  ?  And  they  answered,  As  thou  art,  so  were 
they ;  each  one  resembled  the  children  of  a  king.  And  he  said,  They  were 
my  brethren,  the  sons  of  my  mother :  as  Jehovah  liveth,  if  ye  had  saved 
them  alive,  I  would  not  slay  you.  And  he  said  unto  Jether  his  firstborn, 
Up,  and  slay  them.  But  the  youth  drew  not  his  sword;  for  he  feared, 
because  he  was  yet  a  youth.  Then  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  said,  Rise  thou, 
and  fall  upon  us ;  for  as  the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength.  And  Gideon  arose, 
and  slew  Zebah  and  Zalmunna  and  took  the  crescents  that  were  on  their 
camels'  necks.1 

Whether  the  inference  is  correct  that  the  Judean  historians 
gathered  first  the  hero  stories  of  the  age  of  settlement  in  Canaan 
and  later  prefixed  the  traditions  of  the  Exodus,  of  the  early  tribal 
wanderings,  and  of  the  beginnings  of  humanity,  it  is  clear  that, 
within  about  a  century  after  the  division  of  the  kingdom,  Judah 
had  an  incomparable  collection  of  stories  of  the  past,  brought 
together  in  a  masterly  way  by  those  who  gave  the  whole  a  certain 

1  Judges  6  2b-8a-  U-M-  M,  8  4'21. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  71 

literary  unity.  This  history  was  later  interwoven  with  one  of 
similar  character  composed  in  Northern  Israel,  and,  after  subse- 
quent revision,  centuries  later,  sections  from  the  composite  work 
thus  produced  were  fitted  into  a  new  and  independent  historical 
outline  to  form  our  books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers,  and 
Joshua.  The  narratives  of  Judges  and  Samuel  escaped  the  last 
stage  of  this  process,  but  received,  at  an  earlier  date,  abundant 
additions  and  interpretations.  The  tracing  of  this  long  literary 
history  will  furnish  matter  for  subsequent  chapters.  We  are 
concerned  now  only  with  the  earliest  strand,  compiled  in  Judah 
during  the  first  century  and  a  quarter  of  the  divided  kingdom. 
This  must  be  fragmentary,  as  we  can  now  recover  it,  and  yet  the 
portions  preserved  are  sufficient  to  discover  the  general  plan  and 
scope  of  the  Early  Judean  History  of  Antiquity. 

It  begins  with  the  story  of  the  Garden  in  Genesis  2 :  — * 

In  the  day  that  Jehovah  God  made  earth  and  heaven,  no  plant  of  the 
field  was  yet  in  the  earth,  and  no  herb  of  the  field  had  yet  sprung  up ;  for 
Jehovah  God  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth :  and  there  was  not 
a  man  to  till  the  ground ;  but  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth,  and 
watered  the  whole  face  of  the  ground.  And  Jehovah  God  formed  man  of 
the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  lif e ; 
and  man  became  a  living  soul.  And  Jehovah  God  planted  a  garden  east- 
ward, in  Eden ;  and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had  formed.  And  out 
of  the  ground  made  Jehovah  God  to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to 
the  sight,  and  good  for  food ;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  And  a  river  went  out  of 
Eden  to  water  the  garden ;  and  from  thence  it  was  parted,  and  became  four 
heads.  The  name  of  the  first  is  Pishon :  that  is  it  which  compasseth  the 
whole  land  of  Havilah,  where  there  is  gold ;  and  the  gold  of  that  land  is 

1  Genesis  2  is  sharply  distinguished  from  chapter  1  in  vocabulary, 
style,  and  point  of  view.  Chapter  2  is  picturesque  and  naive,  conceiving 
God  as  working  with  materials,  in  human  fashion,  and  associating  with 
his  creatures ;  chapter  1  is  orderly,  repetitious,  with  a  lofty  and  spirit- 
ualized conception  of  God.  It  is  not  difficult,  by  these  and  other  criteria, 
to  distinguish  the  continuations  of  each  of  these  narratives  in  later  chapters. 
The  first  key  to  the  analysis  was  found  in  the  use  of  the  divine  names. 
In  chapter  1  it  is  uniformly  God,  in  2,  Yahweh  God.  In  chapter  15  there 
begins  a  third  document  using  the  name  God,  but  otherwise  more 
closely  related  to  the  document  of  chapter  2,  from  which  it  cannot  always 
be  discriminated  with  certainty.  See  p.  99. 


72  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

good :  there  is  bdellium  and  the  onyx  stone.  And  the  name  of  the  second 
river  is  Gihon:  .the  same  is  it  that  compasseth  the  whole  land  of  Cush. 
And  the  name  of  the  third  river  is  Hiddekel :  that  is  it  which  goeth  in 
front  of  Assyria.  And  the  fourth  river  is  the  Euphrates.  And  Jehovah 
God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into  the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to 
keep  it.  And  Jehovah  God  commanded  the  man,  saying,  Of  every  tree 
of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat :  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die. 

And  Jehovah  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should  be  alone  ; 
I  will  make  him  a  help  meet  for  him.  And  out  of  the  ground  Jehovah 
God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field,  and  every  bird  of  the  heavens ;  and 
brought  them  unto  the  man  to  see  what  he  would  call  them :  and  whatso- 
ever the  man  called  every  living  creature,  that  was  the  name  thereof. 
And  the  man  gave  names  to  all  cattle,  and  to  the  birds  of  the  heavens, 
and  to  every  beast  of  the  field ;  but  for  man  there  was  not  found  a  help 
meet  for  him.  And  Jehovah  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  the 
man,  and  he  slept ;  and  he  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh 
instead  thereof :  and  the  rib,  which  Jehovah  God  had  taken  from  the  man, 
made  he  a  woman,  and  brought  her  unto  the  man.  And  the  man  said, 
This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh :  she  shall  be  called 
Woman,  because  she  was  taken  out  of  Man.  Therefore  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife :  and  they 
shall  be  one  flesh.  And  they  were  both  naked,  the  man  and  his  wife,  and 
were  not  ashamed. 

This  narrative  is  continued  by  the  temptation  and  fall,  the  first 
murder,  and  the  beginnings  of  civilization  through  Cain's  descend- 
ants. Lamech's  song  is  included  here.1  The  account  of  the  flood 
follows: — 2 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face  of  the 
ground,  and  daughters  were  born  unto  them,  that  the  sons  of  God  saw 
the  daughters  of  men  that  they  were  fair ;  and  they  took  them  wives  of 
all  that  they  chose.  And  Jehovah  said,  My  spirit  shall  not  strive  with 
man  for  ever,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh :  yet  shall  his  days  be  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years.  The  Nephilim  were  in  the  earth  in  those  days,  and  also 
after  that,  when  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and 
they  bare  children  to  them :  the  same  were  the  mighty  men  that  were  of 
old,  the  men  of  renown. 

1  Genesis  4  23-24.     See  p.  13. 

2  g  1-8    7  1-5,  7-10,  12,  16b-17,  22-23    g  2b-3a.  6-12,  13b,  20-22_ 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  73 

And  Jehovah  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil 
continually.  And  it  repented  Jehovah  that  he  had  made  man  on  the 
earth,  and  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart.  And  Jehovah  said,  I  will  destroy 
man  whom  I  have  created  from  the  face  of  the  ground ;  both  man,  and 
beast,  and  creeping  things,  and  birds  of  the  heavens;  for  it  repenteth 
me  that  I  have  made  them.  But  Noah  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah. 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  Noah,  Come  thou  and  all  thy  house  into  the 
ark;  for  thee  have  I  seen  righteous  before  me  in  this  generation.  Of 
every  clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee  seven  and  seven,  the  male  and 
his  female;  and  of  the  beasts  that  are  not  clean  two,  the  male  and  his 
female :  of  the  birds  also  of  the  heavens,  seven  and  seven,  male  and  female, 
to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth.  For  yet  seven  days,  and 
I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights;  and 
every  living  thing  that  I  have  made  will  I  destroy  from  off  the  face  of  the 
ground.  And  Noah  did  according  unto  all  that  Jehovah  commanded 
him.  And  Noah  went  in,  and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons'  wives 
with  him,  into  the  ark.  because  of  the  waters  of  the  flood.  Of  clean 
beasts,  and  of  beasts  that  are  not  clean,  and  of  birds,  and  of  everything 
that  creepeth  upon  the  ground,  there  went  hi  two  and  two  unto  Noah 
into  the  ark,  male  and  female,  as  God  commanded  Noah.  And  it 
came  to  pass  after  the  seven  days,  that  the  waters  of  the  flood  were  upon 
the  earth.  And  the  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights. 
And  Jehovah  shut  him  in.  And  the  flood  was  forty  days  upon  the  earth ; 
and  the  waters  increased,  and  bare  up  the  ark,  and  it  was  lifted  up  above 
the  earth.  All  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  the  spirit  of  life,  of  all 
that  was  on  the  dry  land,  died.  And  every  living  thing  was  destroyed 
that  was  upon  the  face  of  the  ground,  both  man,  and  cattle,  and  creeping 
things,  and  birds  of  the  heavens;  and  they  were  destroyed  from  the 
earth :  and  Noah  only  was  left,  and  they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark. 
And  the  rain  from  heaven  was  restrained ;  and  the  waters  returned  from 
off  the  earth  continually : 

And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  forty  days,  that  Noah  opened  the 
window  of  the  ark  which  he  had  made :  and  he  sent  forth  a  raven,  and  it 
went  forth  to  and  fro,  until  the  waters  were  dried  up  from  off  the  earth. 
And  he  sent  forth  a  dove  from  him,  to  see  if  the  waters  were  abated  from 
off  the  face  of  the  ground ;  but  the  dove  found  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  her 
foot,  and  she  returned  unto  him  to  the  ark ;  for  the  waters  were  on  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth :  and  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  took  her,  and 
brought  her  in  unto  him  into  the  ark.  And  he  stayed  yet  other  seven 
days ;  and  again  he  sent  forth  the  dove  out  of  the  ark ;  and  the  dove  came 


74  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

in  to  him  at  eventide ;  and,  lo,  in  her  mouth  an  olive  leaf  plucked  off : 
so  Noah  knew  that  the  waters  were  abated  from  off  the  earth.  And  he 
stayed  yet  other  seven  days,  and  sent  forth  the  dove;  and  she  returned 
not  again  unto  him  any  more.  And  Noah  removed  the  covering  of  the 
ark,  and  looked,  and,  behold,  the  face  of  the  ground  was  dried. 

And  Noah  builded  an  altar  unto  Jehovah,  and  took  of  every  clean  beast, 
and  of  every  clean  bird,  and  offered  burnt-offerings  on  the  altar.  And 
Jehovah  smelled  the  sweet  savor ;  and  Jehovah  said  in  his  heart,  I  will  not 
again  curse  the  ground  any  more  for  man's  sake,  for  that  the  imagination 
of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth ;  neither  will  I  again  smite  any  more 
everything  living,  as  I  have  done.  While  the  earth  remaineth,  seedtime 
and  harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and 
night  shall  not  cease. 

Presumably  the  story  of  Noah's  drunkenness  and  the  oracular 
curse  on  Cain  that  now  follow  the  flood  narrative x  originally  stood 
before  it.2  Descendants  of  Gush  and  Shem  are  next  given  and,  in 
this  connection,  the  traditional  founding  of  Nineveh.3  The  naive 
story  of  the  tower  of  Babel  with  the  scattering  of  the  nations4 
ends  this  group  of  traditions  concerning  the  beginnings  of  world 
history. 

Abram  and  his  family  are  briefly  introduced  in  the  narrative 5 
which  passes  immediately  to  his  departure  to  Shechem  and  Bethel 6 
and  then  to  Egypt.7 

And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land :  and  Abram  went  down  into  Egypt 
to  sojourn  there ;  for  the  famine  was  sore  in  the  land.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  he  was  come  near  to  enter  into  Egypt,  that  he  said  unto 
Sarai  his  wife,  Behold  now,  I  know  that  thou  art  a  fair  woman  to  look 
upon :  and  it  will  come  to  pass,  when  the  Egyptians  shall  see  thee,  that 
they  will  say,  This  is  his  wife :  and  they  will  kill  me,  but  they  will  save 
thee  alive.  Say,  I  pray  thee,  thou  art  my  sister ;  that  it  may  be  well  with 
me  for  thy  sake,  and  that  my  soul  may  live  because  of  thee.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  that,  when  Abram  was  come  into  Egypt,  the  Egyptians  beheld 
the  woman  that  she  was  very  fair.  And  the  princes  of  Pharaoh  saw  her, 
and  praised  her  to  Pharaoh :  and  the  woman  was  taken  into  Pharaoh's 
house.  And  he  dealt  well  with  Abram  for  her  sake :  and  he  had  sheep, 
and  oxen,  and  he-asses,  and  men-servants,  and  maid-servants,  and  she- 
asses,  and  camels.  And  Jehovah  plagued  Pharaoh  and  his  house  with 
great  plagues  because  of  Sarai,  Abram's  wife.  And  Pharaoh  called 
i  9  is-27.  2  gee  Kent,  Beginnings  of  Hebrew  History,  p.  60. 

3  10  8~19'    21-   K-«0.  4  11   1-9.  5  11   28-30.  6  12  1-4&,   6-9.  7  12  10-20. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  75 

Abram  and  said,  What  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  unto  me  ?  Why  didst 
thou  not  tell  me  that  she  was  thy  wife  ?  why  saidst  thou,  She  is  my  sister, 
so  that  I  took  her  to  be  my  wife  ?  now  therefore  behold  thy  wife,  take  her, 
and  go  thy  way.  And  Pharaoh  gave  men  charge  concerning  him :  and 
they  brought  him  on  the  way,  and  his  wife,  and  all  that  he  had. 

The  return  to  Bethel  and  the  separation  of  Abram  and  Lot  are 
recounted,1  and  the  promise  of  the  land  is  then  given  to  Abram.2 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  Abram,  after  that  Lot  was  separated  from  him, 
Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from  the  place  where  thou  art,  north- 
ward and  southward  and  eastward  and  westward :  for  all  the  land  which 
thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever.  And  I  will 
make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth :  so  that  il  a  man  can  number  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  then  may  thy  seed  also  be  numbered.  Arise,  walk 
through  the  land  in  the  length  of  it  and  in  the  breadth  of  it ;  for  unto  thee 
will  I  give  it.  And  Abram  moved  his  tent,  and  came  and  dwelt  by  the 
oaks  of  Mamre,  which  are  in  Hebron,  and  built  there  an  altar  unto 
Jehovah. 

The  flight  of  Hagar  offers  incidental  opportunity  to  explain  the 
name  Beer-lahai-roi.3  The  entertainment  of  the  heavenly  visitors 
and  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  give  a  series  of  vivid 
pictures.4 

The  stories  of  this  document  are  all  picturesque,  full  of  human 
interest,  appealing  alike  to  child  and  cultured  man  of  letters. 
Professor  Gardiner  speaks  of  their  "intense  interest  in  human 
life, "  and,  classing  them  along  with  the  narratives  of  the  same 
general  age  in  Samuel  and  Kings,  declares  that  "for  swiftness, 
for  the  unerring  sense  of  effective  detail,  these  stories  are  our 
standard  in  English."  "One  thinks  first  of  all,"  he  adds,  "of  their 
simplicity,  clearness,  and  vividness."5  We  need  only  recall  the 
picture  with  which  the  whole  story  opens;  or  the  narrative  of 
temptation,  sin,  and  shame;  the  account  of  the  first  murder; 
the  vivid  scene  at  Babel;  the  entertainment  of  the  heavenly 
visitors  at  Abraham's  tent,  to  feel  the  justice  of  this  high  estimate 
from  a  man  of  letters.  One  need  only  read  the  stories  to  the  more 
infallible  critics,  story-loving  children,  to  test  their  unchanging 
vitality. 

1  13  1-5.   6b-lia,   I2b-I3f  2  13  14-18.  3  lg  Ib-Z,   4-14.  4  lg     1Q  1-Z8. 

s  J.  H.  Gardiner,  The  Bible  as  English  Literature,  p.  37. 


76  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Human  beings  of  alert  mind  are  interested^to  know  how  things 
come  to  be  as  they  are  —  'tis  the  common  impulse  of  early  myth, 
of  proud  philosophy,  and  of  arrogant  science.  Few  if  any  early 
documents  are  more  alive  to  this  universal  craving  of  keen  intel- 
lects than  the  early  Judean  history.  It  can  hardly  let  a  name  or 
custom  find  mention  without  some  explanation  of  its  origin. 
The  rise  of  the  different  arts  and  occupations,  the  sources  of  the 
universal  joys  and  sorrows  of  life  are  all  of  vital  moment  in  this 
earliest  attempt  at  a  universal  history  of  humanity.  Sociologist 
and  poet  alike  may  find  their  spiritual  progenitors  in  the  narrators 
of  these  ancient  tales,  to  whom  "  nothing  human"  was  "  foreign." 
The  stories  seek  to  tell  why  the  marriage  relation  exists,  why 
"men  must  work  and  women  must  weep,"  why  the  nations  suf- 
fer the  inconvenience  of  talking  different  languages,  and  so  on, 
ad  indefinitum.  They  love,  too,  the  folksong  that  comes  down 
from  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  people. 

The  same  qualities  are  seen  throughout  the  history  of  the  patri- 
archal wanderings,  the  Egyptian  sojourn,  the  wilderness  era,  the 
struggle  for  the  land.  A  few  selections  made  almost  at  random 
illustrate :  — 

THE  DELIVERANCE  AT  THE  SEA 

And  it  was  told  the  king  of  Egypt  that  the  people  were  fled :  and  the 
heart  of  Pharaoh  and  of  his  servants  was  changed  towards  the  people, 
and  they  said,  What  is  this  we  have  done,  that  we  have  let  Israel  go  from 
serving  us?  And  he  made  ready  his  chariot,  and  took  his  people  with 
him :  and  all  the  chariots  of  Egypt. 

And  when  Pharaoh  drew  nigh,  the  children  of  Israel  lifted  up  their 
eyes,  and,  behold,  the  Egyptians  were  marching  after  them;  and  they 
were  sore  afraid : 

And  they  said  unto  Moses,  Because  there  were  no  graves  in  Egypt, 
hast  thou  taken  us  away  to  die  in  the  wilderness?  wherefore  hast  thou 
dealt  with  us,  to  bring  us  forth  out  of  Egypt  ?  Is  not  this  the  word  that 
we  spake  unto  thee  in  Egypt,  saying,  Let  us  alone,  that  we  may  serve  the 
Egyptians  ?  For  it  were  better  for  us  to  serve  the  Egyptians,  than  that 
we  should  die  in  the  wilderness.  And  Moses  said  unto  the  people,  Fear 
ye  not,  stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  Jehovah,  which  he  will  work 
for  you  to-day :  for  the  Egyptians  whom  ye  have  seen  to-day,  ye  shall 
see  them  again  no  more  for  ever.  Jehovah  will  fight  for  you,  and  ye  shall 
hold  your  peace. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  77 

And  the  pillar  of  cloud  removed  from  before  them,  and  stood  behind 
them ;  yet  gave  it  light  by  night :  and  the  one  came  not  near  the  other 
all  the  night.  And  Jehovah  caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  a  strong  east 
wind  all  the  night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land.  And  it  came  to  pass  in 
the  morning  watch,  that  Jehovah  looked  forth  upon  the  host  of  the 
Egyptians  through  the  pillar  of  fire  and  of  cloud.  And  he  bound  their 
chariot  wheels,  and  they  drove  them  heavily ;  so  that  the  Egyptians  said, 
Let  us  flee  from  the  face  of  Israel ;  for  Jehovah  fighteth  for  them  against 
the  Egyptians.  And  the  sea  returned  to  its  strength  when  the  morning 
appeared ;  and  the  Egyptians  fled  against  it ;  and  Jehovah  overthrew  the 
Egyptians  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.  There  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of 
them. 

Thus  Jehovah  saved  Israel  that  day  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians ; 
and  Israel  saw  the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the  seashore.1 

SENDING  THE   QUAILS 

And  the  mixed  multitude  that  was  among  them  lusted  exceedingly: 
and  the  children  of  Israel  also  wept  again,  and  said,  Who  shall  give  us 
flesh  to  eat?  We  remember  the  fish,  which  we  did  eat  in  Egypt  for 
nought;  the  cucumbers,  and  the  melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the  onions, 
and  the  garlic :  but  now  our  soul  is  dried  away ;  there  is  nothing  at  all 
save  this  manna  to  look  upon.  And  the  manna  was  like  coriander  seed, 
and  the  appearance  thereof  as  the  appearance  of  bdellium.  The  people 
went  about,  and  gathered  it,  and  ground  it  in  mills,  or  beat  it  in  mortars, 
and  boiled  it  in  pots,  and  made  cakes  of  it :  and  the  taste  of  it  was  as  the 
taste  of  fresh  oil.  And  when  the  dew  fell  upon  the  camp  in  the  night, 
the  manna  fell  upon  it. 

And  Moses  heard  the  people  weeping  throughout  then"  families,  every 
man  at  the  door  of  his  tent :  and  the  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  greatly ; 
and  Moses  was  displeased.  And  Moses  said  unto  Jehovah,  Wherefore 
hast  thou  dealt  ill  with  thy  servant?  and  wherefore  have  I  not  found 
favor  hi  thy  sight,  that  thou  layest  the  burden  of  all  this  people  upon  me  ? 
Have  I  conceived  all  this  people  ?  have  I  brought  them  forth,  that  thou 
shouldst  say  unto  me,  Carry  them  in  thy  bosom,  as  a  nursing-father 
carrieth  the  suckling  child,  unto  the  land  which  thou  swarest  unto  their 
fathers?  Whence  should  I  have  flesh  to  give  unto  all  this  people?  for 
they  weep  unto  me,  saying,  Give  us  flesh,  that  we  may  eat.  I  am 
not  able  to  bear  all  this  people  alone,  because  it  is  too  heavy  for  me.  And 
if  thou  deal  thus  with  me,  kill  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  hand,  if  I  have  found 
favor  in  thy  sight ;  and  let  me  not  see  my  wretchedness. 

******** 

1  Exodus  14  *•*•  7b>  I0a-  u~11* 19b-  **•  nb- 24a-  **• 27b>  Bb>  *°. 


78 

And  Moses  went  out,  and  told  the  people  the  words  of  Jehovah : 
And  there  went  forth  a  wind  from  Jehovah,  and  brought  quails  from 
the  sea,  and  let  them  fall  by  the  camp,  about  a  day's  journey  on  this  side, 
and  a  day's  journey  on  the  other  side,  round  about  the  camp,  and  about 
two  cubits  above  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  the  people  rose  up  all  that 
day,  and  all  the  night,  and  all  the  next  day,  and  gathered  the  quails :  he 
that  gathered  least  gathered  ten  homers:  and  they  spread  them  all 
abroad  for  themselves  round  about  the  camp.  While  the  flesh  was  yet 
between  their  teeth,  ere  it  was  chewed,  the  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled 
against  the  people,  and  Jehovah  smote  the  people  with  a  very  great  plague. 
And  the  name  of  that  place  was  called  Kibroth-hattaavah,  because  there 
they  buried  the  people  that  lusted.  From  Kibroth-hattaavah  the  people 
journeyed  unto  Hazeroth ;  and  they  abode  at  Hazeroth.1 

JOSHUA'S  SONG 

Then  spake  Joshua  to  Jehovah  in  the  day  when  Jehovah  delivered 
up  the  Amorites  before  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  he  said  in  the  sight  of 
Israel, 

Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon ; 

And  thou,  Moon,  in  the  valley  of  Aijalon. 

And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed, 

Until  the  nation  had  avenged  themselves  of  their  enemies. 
Is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of  Jashar?    And  the  sun  stayed  in  the 
midst  of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  about  a  whole  day.    And 
there  was  no  day  like  that  before  it  or  after  it,  that  Jehovah  hearkened 
unto  the  voice  of  a  man :  for  Jehovah  fought  for  Israel.2 

The  theology  and  ethics  of  this  history  are  primitive.  Abram 
lies  about  his  wife  and  never  dreams  of  chivalrous  protection,  but 
he  is  not  condemned  for  it.  God  is  thought  of  as  little  more  than 
a  powerful  man  whose  majesty  is  threatened  by  the  height  of 
Babel's  tower,  who  has  to  come  down  to  see  what  men  are  doing, 
who  walks  and  talks  with  men ;  with  him  prophets  like  Abraham  and 
Moses  may  argue  and  persuade.  The  culmination  of  wickedness 
is  explained  as  due  to  the  intermarriage  of  the  sons  of  God  with 
the  daughters  of  men.  Despite  the  primitive  thought  of  these 
narratives,  there  is  a  great  moral  and  religious  theme  running 
through  them.  We  have  fully  entered  the  era  when  religion  is 
becoming  ethical.  The  great  truth  that  man's  sin  brings  separa- 
tion from  God  and  countless  woes  is  set  forth  with  dramatic  power 

1  Numbers  11  «-"•  »-».  2  Joshua  10  12-". 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  79 

as  the  story  advances  from  stage  to  stage.  The  other  side  of  the 
picture  is  also  winsomely  presented,  with  the  primitive  virtues  of 
generosity,  hospitality,  and  childlike  piety  embodied  in  attractive 
personalities.  This  is  called  the  early  Judean  prophetic  history 
because  it  contains  the  beginnings  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
teachings  which  were  the  great  gift  and  glory  of  Israel's  prophets. 
We  have  left  behind  the  age  when  the  God  of  Israel  was  little  more 
than  the  God  of  battles. 

Allusion  was  made,  in  the  opening  chapter,  to  the  fact  that  the 
stories  of  Eden  and  Babel  indicate  on  their  face  their  origin  in  the 
Tigris-Euphrates  valley.  The  garden  is  planted  "eastward," 
and,  of  the  rivers,  two  are  clearly  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.1  The 
tower  of  Babel  is  placed  in  the  Babylonian  plain,  Shinar,  where 
the  building  material  was  regularly  brick,  the  bitumen  ("slime") 
springs  were  abundant,  and  great,  towerlike  structures  were 
erected  from  the  earliest  times.  The  flood  story  is  not  so  obviously 
set  in  the  Tigris-Euphrates  valley,  but  the  close  parallels  to  it 
in  the  earlier  Babylonian  flood  stories  indicate  no  less  certainly 
that  it,  too,  comes  from  this  centre  of  early  Semitic  culture.  The 
fullest  version  that  has  reached  us  is  contained  in  the  eleventh 
tablet  of  the  Gilgamesh  Epic,  found  hi  the  library  of  King  Ashur- 
banipal  of  Nineveh  (seventh  century  B.C.).  Fragments  of  the 
story  have  been  found  that  were  written  long  before  the  migration 
of  Israel's  progenitors  to  Canaan.  It  is  conceivable  that  the 
tradition  was  brought  from  Mesopotamia  in  the  Abramic  migra- 
tion, but  more  probable  that  it  was  adopted  by  the  Hebrews  after 
their  entrance  into  Canaan.2 

The  Hebrew  form  of  the  story  is  introduced  by  a  strange  bit  of 
ancient  mythology  concerning  the  sons  of  God  and  daughters  of 
men,  and  is  characterized  by  the  childlike  conceptions  of  the  ninth 
century  B.C.  ;  yet  it  is  distinguished  by  a  lofty  conception  of  the 
action  of  one  God  who  brings  on  the  flood  as  a  just  judgment,  in 
most  startling  contrast  to  the  cowering  and  bickering  gods  that 
appear  in  the  seventh-century  form  of  the  Babylonian  story.  The 
Babylonian  narrative  is  one  form  of  the  original  tradition  that 

1  The  Pishon  and  Gihon  are  probably  two  of  the  artificial  rivers  of 
Babylonia. 

z  See  Chapter  I,  p.  7. 


80  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

probably  grew  out  of  some  early  devastating  flood  in  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  valley.  The  early  Judean  form  of  the  story  shows 
how  completely  the  prophetic  conception  of  Jehovah,  even  in  its 
earlier  stages,  transfused  and  transformed  all  that  the  sons  of 
Israel  received  of  Semitic  tradition.  In  Babylon  and  Assyria 
the  story  was  handed  down  unchanged  in  its  fundamental  con- 
ceptions. In  Israel,  such  details  as  the  process  of  calking  the  ark 
or  sending  out  birds  to  see  whether  the  waters  had  abated  might 
remain  almost  unchanged  while  the  story  was  transformed  in  its 
entire  significance.  The  Babylonian  story  should  be  read  in 
comparison  with  the  Judean. 

THE  BABYLONIAN  DELUGE  NARRATIVE1 

Gilgamesh  has  come  after  great  struggles  to  the  abode  of 
Utnapishtim,  hero  of  the  flood. 

Gilgamesh  speaks  to  him,  to  Utnapishtim,  the  far-removed : 

"I  gaze  at  thee,  Utnapishtim. 

Thy  appearance  is  not  different.    As  I  am,  so  art  thou. 

And  thou  art  not  different.    As  I  am,  so  art  thou. 

Thou  art  completely  ready  for  the  fray. 

.  .  .  thou  hast  placed  upon  thee. 

Tell  me  how  thou  didst  enter  into  the  assembly  of  the  gods  and  secure  life." 

Utnapishtim  spoke  to  Gilgamesh : 

"I  will  reveal  to  thee,  Gilgamesh,  a  secret  story, 

And  the  decision  of  the  gods  I  will  tell  thee. 

The  city  Shurippak,2  a  city  which  thou  knowest, 

(The  one  that)  lies  on  the  Euphrates, 

That  city  was  old  and  the  gods  thereof 

Induced  the  great  gods  to  bring  a  cyclone  over  it. 

It  was  planned  ( ?)  by  their  father  Anu 

(By)  their  counsellor,  the  warrior  Enlil, 

(By)  their  herald  Ninib, 

(By)  their  leader  En-nugi 

Nin-igi-azag,3  Ea,  was  with  them, 

He  repeated  their  decision  to  the  reed-hut. 

Reed-hut,  reed-hut,  wall,  wall, 

Reed-hut,  hear !    Wall,  give  ear." 

1  Revised  translation  by  Professor  Morris  Jastrow,  Jr.,  Ph.D. 

2  Now  identified  as  the  site  of  the  mound  Fara. 

3  Or  Nin-igi-ku  title  of  Ea  as  "lord  of  the  shining  eye." 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN   HISTORY  81 

0  man  of  Shurippak,  son  of  Ubaru-Tutu, 
Break  up  the  house,  build  a  ship, 
Abandon  your  property,  seek  life. 

Throw  aside  your  possessions,  and  preserve  life, 
Bring  into  the  ship  seed  of  all  living  things. 
The  ship  that  thou  shalt  build, 
Its  dimensions  shall  be  measured, 

Its  breadth  and  length  made  to  correspond. 

****** 

1  understood  and  spoke  to  Ea  my  lord. 

(The  command)  of  my  lord  which  thou  hast  commanded  as 

I  have  understood  (it)  I  will  carry  out 

But  what  shall  I  answer  the  city,  the  people,  and  the  elders  ? 

Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke 

(As  answer)  thus  speak  to  them : 

(Know  that)  Enlil  has  taken  hatred  towards  me, 

So  that  I  can  no  longer  dwell  (in  your  city) 

(On)  Bel's  territory  I  dare  no  longer  set  my  face. 

Therefore,  I  go  to  the  '  deep '  to  dwell  with  Ea  my  lord. 

Over  you  I  will  cause  blessing  to  rain  down 
(Catch  of)  bird,  catch  of  fish, 
And  .  .  .  rich  crops. 
Shamash  had  fixed  the  time 

"  (When)  the  rulers  of  darkness  at  evening  will  cause  a  destructive  rain- 
storm to  come  down. 
Enter  the  ship,  close  thy  door."  l 
That  time  drew  nigh. 

The  rulers  of  darkness  at  evening  brought  on  a  destructive  rainstorm. 
I  looked  at  the  aspect  of  the  day. 
The  sight  of  the  day  was  terrible, 
I  entered  the  ship  and  closed  my  door. 
To  the  pilot  of  the  ship,  the  boatsman  Puzur-schadu-rabu2 
I  entrusted  the  large  structure 3  and  its  contents. 
As  morning  dawned 

There  arose  on  the  firmament  of  heaven,  black  clouds, 
Ramman  thundered  therein ; 
Nebo  and  Lugal  march  in  advance, 
The  ship's  pole  Urra 4  tears  out. 
Ninib  marches,  commanding  the  attack, 

1  Variant "  thy  ship."  2  Variant  Puzur-kur-gal. 

s  Lit.  "  palace."  * "  God  of  pestilence." 

o 


82  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  Anunnaki  lift  the  torches 
Illuminating  the  land  with  their  sheen, 
Ramman's  roar  reaches  to  heaven, 
All  light  is  changed  to  darkness. 

****** 

One  day  the  hurricane  raged  .  .  . 

Storming  furiously  .  .  . 

Like  a  combat  over  .  .  . 

Brother  sees  not  brother ; 

The  people  of  heaven 1  do  not  know  one  another. 

The  gods  are  terrified  at  the  cyclone, 

They  flee  and  mount  to  the  heaven  of  Ami;2 

The  gods  crouch  like  dogs  in  an  enclosure. 

Ishtar  cries  aloud  like  one  in  birth  throes, 

The  mistress  of  the  gods  howls  aloud : 

"That  day  be  turned  to  clay 3 

When  I  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  commanded  evil, 

For  the  destruction  of  my  people  ordered  a  combat. 

Did  I  bring  forth  my  people 

That  like  fish  they  should  fill  the  sea?" 

The  gods  of  the  Anunnaki  weep  with  her, 

The  gods  sit  down,  depressed  and  weeping. 

Their  lips  are  closed  .  .  . 

Six  days  and  nights  .  .  . 

The  storm,  cyclone  (and)  hurricane  continued  sweeping  over  the  land. 

When  the  seventh  day  approached,  the  hurricane  and  cyclone  ceased  the 

combat 

After  having  fought  like  .  .  . 

The  sea  grew  quiet,  the  evil  storm  abated,  the  cyclone  was  restrained. 
I  looked  at  the  day  and  the  roar  had  quieted  down. 
And  all  mankind  had  turned  to  clay 
Like  an  enclosure  .  .  .  had  become. 

I  opened  a  window  and  light  fell  on  my  face, 

I  bowed  down  and  sat  down  (and)  wept, 

Tears  flowed  on  my  face, 

I  looked  in  all  directions  to  the  horizon  of  the  sea 

At  a  distance,  of  12  (miles) 4  an  island  appeared 

At  Mount  Nizir  the  ship  stood  still, 

Mount  Nizir  took  hold  of  the  ship  so  that  it  could  not  move. 

1  I.e.  the  gods.  2  I.e.  the  highest  part  of  heaven. 

*  I.e.  be  cursed  with  destruction.       4  Or  after  a  space  of  twelve  double  hours. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  83 

One  day,  two  days  Mount  Nizir,  three  days  and  four  days  Mount  Nizir, 
etc.1 

Five  days,  six  days,  Mount  Nizir,  etc.1 

When  the  seventh  day  arrived, 

I  sent  forth  a  dove,  letting  it  free. 

The  dove  went  hither  and  thither. 

Not  finding  a  resting-place  it  came  back. 

I  sent  forth  a  swallow,  letting  it  free. 

The  swallow,  went  hither  and  thither. 

Not  finding  a  resting-place,  it  came  back. 

I  sent  forth  a  raven,  letting  it  free. 

It  ate,  croaked,  but  did  not  turn  back. 

Then  I  let  (all  ?)  out  to  the  four  regions  (and)  brought  an  offering. 

I  brought  a  sacrifice  on  the  mountain  top. 

Seven  and  seven  adagur  jars  I  arranged. 

Beneath  them  I  strewed  reeds,  cedarwood  and  myrtle. 

The  gods  smelled  the  odor, 

The  gods  smelled  the  sweet  odor. 

The  gods  like  flies  gathered  around  the  sacrificer. 

As  soon  as  the  mistress  of  the  gods 2  had  arrived 

She  raised  on  high  the  large  precious  stones  which  Anu  had  made,  accord- 
ing to  his  plan. 

"Ye  gods  here,  as  surely  as  I  will  not  forget  the  lapis  lazuli  at  my  neck 

So  I  will  remember  these  days  —  never  to  forget  them. 

Let  the  gods  come  to  the  sacrifice, 

But  Enlil  should  not  come  to  the  sacrifice 

Because  without  reflection  he  brought  on  the  cyclone, 

And  decreed  my  people  to  destruction." 

As  soon  as  Enlil  arrived, 

He  saw  the  ship,  and  Enlil  was  enraged, 

Filled  with  anger  at  the  Igigi. 

"Who  now  has  escaped  with  his  life? 

No  man  was  to  survive  the  destruction ! " 

Ninib  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

Said  to  the  warrior  Enlil, 

"Who  except  Ea  can  plan  any  affair? 

Ea  indeed  knows  every  order." 

Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke,  saying  to  the  warrior  Enlil : 

"Thou  art  the  leader  (and)  warrior  of  the  gods, 

1  Sign  of  reduplication,  i.e.  "Mount  Nizir  took  hold  of  the  ship  so  that 
it  could  not  move."  2  Ishtar. 


84  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

But  why  didst  thou,  without  reflection,  bring  on  the  cyclone? 

On  him  who  has  sinned  impose  his  sin, 

On  the  evil-doer  impose  his  evil, 

But  be  merciful  so  as  not  to  root  out  completely, 

Be  considerate  not  (to  destroy  altogether). 

Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 

0  that  lions  had  come  and  diminished  man ! 

Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 

0  that  jackals  had  come  and  diminished  man ! 

Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 

0  that  famine  had  come  and  overwhelmed  the  land ! 

Instead  of  bringing  on  a  cyclone, 

0  that  Urra1  had  come  and  destroyed  the  land ! 

1  did  not  reveal  the  oracle  of  the  great  gods, 

I  sent  Atra-Khasis  2  a  dream  and  he  heard  the  oracle. 

Now  take  counsel  for  him." 

Enlil  mounted  the  ship, 

Took  hold  of  my  hand  and  led  me  up, 

Led  up  and  caused  my  wife  to  kneel  at  my  side, 

Touched  our  forehead,  stepped  between  us  (and)  blessed  us. 

Hitherto  Utnapishtim  was  a  man ; 

Now  Utnapishtim  and  his  wife  shall  be  gods  like  us. 

Utnapishtim  shall  dwell  in  the  distance,  at  the  confluence  of  the  streams. 

Then  they  took  me  and  settled  me  at  the  confluence  of  the  streams. 

While  the  Babylonian  tablets  have  not  as  yet  yielded  any  such 
extensive  and  close  parallel  to  the  other  stories  of  the  Judean 
history,  they  do  at  times  throw  interesting  light  upon  the  Hebrew 
narratives.  A  notable  example  is  found  in  the  recognition  in  the 
Code  of  Hammurabi  of  Babylon  (c.  2000  B.C.)  of  the  legal  fiction 
that  a  wife  may  obtain  a  son  through  giving  her  slave  maid  to  her 
husband.  The  custom  which  figures  so  prominently  in  the  stories 
of  Abram  and  Jacob  was  evidently  an  ancient  Semitic  usage. 

The  story  of  Noah,  the  first  vineyard  keeper,3  though  standing 
among  the  narratives  supposed  to  precede  the  first  entrance  of 
Israel's  ancestors  into  Canaan,  seems  to  have  been  of  Canaanite 
origin,  where  the  vine  played  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  life  of  the 
people.  Of  the  later  stories  preserved  in  Genesis  many  group 
themselves  about  ancient  sacred  spots  such  as  the  oak  at  Mamre 

1  God  of  pestilence.     2 Meaning  "the  very  wise  one."     3  Genesis  9  20~28. 


THE  GREAT  JUDEAN  HISTORY  85 

and  the  natural  sanctuary  at  Bethel.  When  the  Hebrews  settled 
among  the  Canaanites,  they  doubtless  adopted  many  traditions 
connected  with  the  ancient  sanctuaries  of  the  land,  and  with  these 
may  have  mingled  recollections  of  then*  early  tribal  wanderings, 
and  of  their  own  early  experiences  hi  the  land.1 

In  the  story  of  Joseph,  there  is  preserved,  it  seems  quite  possible, 
a  modified  form  of  one  of  the  most  famous  of  Egyptian  tales,  The 
Story  of  Two  Brothers,  Anpu  and  Bata.2  Even  if  the  Egyptian 
tale  is  the  original  of  this  narrative  of  Joseph  and  his  master's 
wife,  it  is  but  an  episode  hi  the  Hebrew  Joseph  narratives,  and 
serves  to  illustrate  how  completely  foreign  material  might  be 
assimilated. 

As  the  Hebrew  narrative  advances  through  the  story  of  the 
Exodus  to  the  days  of  the  Judges  the  genuinely  historical  elements 
grow  more  and  more  prominent,  while  it  becomes  evident  that 
this  early  document  is  far  superior  in  historical  value  to  the  late 
framework  of  the  Pentateuch.  In  the  narrative  of  the  deliver- 
ance at  the  sea,  for  example,  the  Judean  history  gives  an  account 
that  does  not  presuppose  the  suspension  of  the  laws  of  physics 
while  the  waters  stand  hi  a  wall  on  either  hand.  That  conception 
belongs  rather  to  the  late  strand  of  the  book  of  Exodus.3  In  the 
settlement  of  Canaan,  it  has  already  been  noted  that  these  earlier 
sources  represent  the  conquest  as  a  gradual  occupation  and  settle- 
ment among  the  former  inhabitants.4  The  later  writers  conceived 
it  rather  as  a  triumphal  march  which  has  the  double  disadvantage 
of  being  intrinsically  improbable  and  quite  out  of  accord  with 
subsequent  conditions  as  revealed  in  the  earliest,  sometimes 
contemporary,  documents.  Thus,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
historian,  the  Early  Judean  History  contains  usually  the  earliest 
and  best  accounts  that  have  been  preserved  of  ages  already  tra- 
ditional when  Hebrew  writers  began  to  search  the  distant  past. 

This  great  example  of  early  prose  writing  is  more  than  historical 
chronicle.  The  wonderful  literary  genius  of  Judah,  hi  the  ninth 

1  See  Gunkel,   Legends  of  Genesis,  pp.  91-93 ;    Kent,   Beginnings  of 
Hebrew  History,  Introduction  I. 

2  The  story  is  given  in  Egyptian  Tales,  Second  Series,  by  M.  Flinders 
Petrie,  pp.  36-86. 

*  Exodus  14  «•  ».  4  Page  6. 


86  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

century  B.C.,  gathered  together  the  priceless  lore  of  the  past, 
preserved  in  song  and  prose  tale,  in  written  document  and  oral 
tradition,  and  shaped  it  all  under  the  majestic  thought  that 
Jehovah  had  created  man  instinct  with  his  own  breath,  and  that 
man's  sin  and  separation  from  his  creator  had  brought  separation 
from  his  fellow-man  and  countless  woe;  but  that  there  had  ever 
been  faithful  and  obedient  individuals  whom  Jehovah  could  bless 
and  direct  into  paths  of  righteousness  and  peace.  The  narrative 
is  alive  to  every  human  interest,  to  the  origin  of  all  arts,  customs, 
names  even,  to  the  details  of  individual  lives  in  their  loves  and 
hates,  their  failures  and  successes,  with  the  whole  mass  of  material 
so  mastered  and  moulded  that  these  incidental  interests  do  not 
divert  the  main  stream  from  its  even  flow.  In  rational  order, 
the  story  is  told  from  the  beginnings  of  all  history,  through  the 
separation  and  wanderings  of  Israel's  reputed  ancestors,  down  to 
a  time  almost  contemporary  with  the  writers.  Although  this 
great  work  has  been  preserved  interwoven  with  later  documents, 
in  excerpts  that  do  not  give  the  whole,  yet  its  comparative  con- 
tinuity of  narrative  and  its  progressive  unity  of  conceptions  make 
it  one  of  the  most  remarkable  literary  products  of  antiquity. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EAKLT   PROSE   NARRATIVES   OF  NORTHERN   ISRAEL 

(About  850  to  800  B.C.} 

IT  was  noted  in  the  previous  chapter  that  the  first  fifty  years 
of  Northern  Israel's  separate  history  were  marked  by  at  least 
two  assassinations  and  consequent  changes  of  dynasty.  Then 
the  able  general  Omri  established  himself  on  the  throne,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Ahab,  whose  two  sons  reigned  after  him  in 
succession.  These  three  generations  of  rulers  bring  the  history 
down  to  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century  B.C.  Omri  seems  to 
have  made  alliance  with  Damascus,  whose  growing  power  King 
Baasha  had  felt;  but  Ahab  waged  bitter  war  with  the  Syrian 
kingdom. 

In  1  Kings  20  and  22,  we  have  vivid  accounts  of  two  periods  in 
this  struggle  which  probably  come  from  a  history  composed  soon 
after  the  events.  A  brief  selection  from  each  may  serve  to  give 
the  flavor  of  this  early  narrative. 

And  Benhadad  sent  unto  him,  and  said,  The  gods  do  so  unto  me,  and 
more  also,  if  the  dust  of  Samaria  shall  suffice  for  handfuls  for  all  the  people 
that  follow  me.  And  the  king  of  Israel  answered  and  said,  Tell  him,  Let 
not  him  that  girdeth  on  his  armor  boast  himself  as  he  that  putteth  it  off. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Benhadad  heard  this  message,  as  he  was  drink- 
ing, he  and  the  kings,  in  the  pavilions,  that  he  said  unto  his  servants, 
Set  yourselves  in  array.  And  they  set  themselves  in  array  against  the 
city. 

And  they  went  out  at  noon.  But  Benhadad  was  drinking  himself 
drunk  in  the  pavilions,  he  and  the  kings,  the  thirty  and  two  kings  that 
helped  him.  And  the  young  men  of  the  princes  of  the  provinces  went 
out  first ;  and  Benhadad  sent  out,  and  they  told  him,  saying,  There  are 
men  come  out  from  Samaria.  And  he  said,  Whether  they  are  come  out 
for  peace,  take  them  alive ;  or  whether  they  are  come  out  for  war,  take 
them  alive.  So  these  went  out  of  the  city,  the  young  men  of  the  princes 

87 


88  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

of  the  provinces,  and  the  army  which  followed  them.  And  they  slew 
every  one  his  man ;  and  the  Syrians  fled,  and  Israel  pursued  them :  and 
Benhadad  the  king  of  Syria  escaped  on  a  horse  with  horsemen.  And  the 
king  of  Israel  went  out,  and  smote  the  horses  and  chariots,  and  slew  the 
Syrians  with  a  great  slaughter.1 

So  the  king  of  Israel  and  Jehoshaphat  the  king  of  Judah  went  up  to 
Ramoth-gilead.  And  the  king  of  Israel  said  unto  Jehoshaphat,  I  will 
disguise  myself,  and  go  into  the  battle ;  but  put  thou  on  thy  robes.  And  the 
king  of  Israel  disguised  himself,  and  went  into  the  battle.  Now  the  king 
of  Syria  had  commanded  the  thirty  and  two  captains  of  his  chariots, 
saying,  Fight  neither  with  small  nor  great,  save  only  with  the  king  of 
Israel.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  captains  of  the  chariots  saw 
Jehoshaphat,  that  they  said,  Surely  it  is  the  king  of  Israel;  and  they 
turned  aside  to  fight  against  him : '  and  Jehoshaphat  cried  out.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  when  the  captains  of  the  chariots  saw  that  it  was  not  the 
king  of  Israel,  that  they  turned  back  from  pursuing  him.  And  a  certain 
man  drew  his  bow  at  a  venture,  and  smote  the  king  of  Israel  between  the 
joints  of  the  armor :  wherefore  he  said  unto  the  driver  of  his  chariot, 
Turn  thy  hand,  and  carry  me  out  of  the  host ;  for  I  am  sore  wounded. 
And  the  battle  increased  that  day:  and  the  king  was  stayed  up  in  his 
chariot  against  the  Syrians,  and  died  at  even;  and  the  blood  ran  out  of 
the  wound  into  the  bottom  of  the  chariot.  And  there  went  a  cry  through- 
out the  host  about  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  saying,  Every  man  to  his 
city,  and  every  man  to  his  country.2 

The  document  from  which  these  chapters  were  taken  by  the 
compiler  of  Kings  probably  contained  the  vivid  stories  of  the 
expedition  against  Edom  in  which  Elisha  participated  (2  Kings  3), 
of  the  relief  of  Samaria  (2  Kings  6  24-7  17),  and  of  the  revolution  of 
Jehu  (2  Kings  9-10).  Various  indications  of  later  additions  are 
found  in  these  sections,  especially  in  the  last,  but  the  main  kernel 
may  be  ascribed  to  a  Northern  Israelitish  history  written  not  long 
after  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  the  divided  kingdom.  We 
may  count  these  narratives  the  earliest  relics  of  connected  prose 
writing  in  the  northern  kingdom. 

The  northern  narratives  lack  the  full  charm  of  the  Saul  and 
David  stories,  which  held  a  similar  position  of  priority  in  the 
literary  history  of  the  South,  but  are  still  fine  specimens  of 
the  story-telling  gifts  of  Israel's  early  writers.  How  extensive  the 

1 1  Kings  20  10-12-  16-21.  2 1  Kings  22  29-36. 


EARLY  PROSE  NARRATIVES  OF  NORTHERN  ISRAEL    89 

work  may  have  been  from  which  these  excerpts  were  taken  we 
cannot  tell,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  extended 
back  into  what  were  then  ancient  times.  As  in  Judah,  and 
Britain  too,  the  probability  is  that  the  earliest  historical  writing 
dealt  with  recent  events. 

A  brief  piece  of  narrative  writing,  contemporary  with  that 
which  we  have  just  been  considering,  is  found  on  the  famous 
Moabite  Stone,  erected  by  King  Mesha  to  commemorate  his 
successes  in  winning  back  territory  which  Omri  had  taken  from 
Moab.1  The  alphabet  and  the  language  are  practically  identical 
with  those  found  hi  the  earliest  Hebrew  inscriptions,  while  the 
ideas  and  modes  of  expression  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  Israel's 
earliest  narratives.  A  translation  follows :  — 

MESHA'S  INSCRIPTION 

I  am  Mesha,  son  of  Chemosh  .  .  .  king  of  Moab  the  Dibonite.  My 
father  was  king  over  Moab  thirty  years,  and  I  became  king  after  my 
father.  And  I  made  this  high  place  for  Chemosh  in  Karhoh  ( ?)  in  (grati- 
tude for)  deliverance,  because  he  saved  me  from  all  assailants  (?)  and 
because  he  made  me  see  my  desire  upon  all  those  who  hated  me. 

Omri  was  king  of  Israel  and  he  afflicted  Moab  many  days,  because 
Chemosh  was  angry  with  his  land.  And  his  son  succeeded  him ;  and  he 
also  said,  'I  will  afflict  Moab.'  In  my  days  he  said  .  .  .  but  I  saw  my 
desire  upon  him  and  upon  his  house,  and  Israel  perished  for  ever.  Omri, 
however,  took  possession  of  the  land  of  Medeba ;  and  he  occupied  it  dur- 
ing his  own  days  and  half  of  his  sons'  days,  forty  years;  but  Chemosh 
restored  it  in  my  days. 

And  I  fortified  Baal-meon ;  and  I  made  in  it  the  reservoir ;  and  I  forti- 
fied Kirjathaim.  And  the  men  of  Gad  had  occupied  the  land  of  Ataroth 
from  of  old;  and  the  king  of  Israel  built  Ataroth  for  himself.  And  I 
fought  against  the  city  and  took  it.  And  I  slew  all  the  people ;  the  city 
(became)  a  gazing-stock  to  Chemosh  and  to  Moab.  And  from  there  I 
brought  the  altar-hearth  of  Dodoh  ( ?) ;  and  I  dragged  it  before  Chemosh 
in  Kerioth ;  and  I  caused  the  men  of  Sharon  (?)  to  dwell  there,  and  also 
the  men  of  ... 

Then  Chemosh  said  to  me,  'Go  and  take  Nebo  against  Israel.'  So  I 
went  by  night  and  fought  against  it  from  the  break  of  dawn  until  noon, 
and  I  took  it  and  slew  them  all  —  seven  thousand  men  and  women  and 

1  The  Moabite  Stone  was  discovered  at  the  ruins  of  ancient  Dibon, 
east  of  the  Jordan,  in  1868,  by  a  German  missionary,  F.  A.  Klein.  It  is 
now  in  the  Louvre. 


90  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

.  .  .  female  slaves  —  for  I  had  devoted  it  to  Ashtar-chemosh.  And  the 
king  of  Israel  had  fortified  Jahaz,  and  occupied  it  while  he  fought  against 
me.  But  Chemosh  drove  him  out  before  me.  I  took  two  hundred  men 
of  Moab  —  all  its  poverty-stricken  citizens  —  and  I  brought  them  into 
Jahaz  and  took  possession  of  it,  to  add  it  to  Dibon. 

I  fortified  Karhoh  ( ?),  the  wall  of  the  forests  and  the  wall  of  the  acropolis. 
And  I  built  its  gates ;  and  I  built  the  royal  palace ;  and  I  constructed  the 
sluices  of  the  reservoir  ( ?)  for  the  water  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  And 
there  was  no  cistern  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  in  Karhoh  ( ?) ;  so  I  said  to 
the  people,  'Each  of  you  make  a  cistern  in  his  own  house.'  And  I  cut  the 
trenches  ( ?)  for  Karhoh  ( ?)  with  the  help  of  the  prisoners  of  Israel. 

I  built  Aroer,  and  I  made  the  highway  by  the  Arnon.  I  rebuilt  Beth- 
bamoth,  for  it  had  been  overthrown.  I  rebuilt  Bezer,  for  it  was  in  ruins, 
(with  the  help  of)  fifty  men  of  Dibon,  for  all  Dibon  was  obedient.  And 
I  reigned  over  a  hundred  (chiefs)  ( ?)  in  the  cities  which  I  added  to  the 
land.  And  I  built  Medeba  and  Beth-diblathaim  and  Beth-baal-meon. 
And  there  I  placed  (those  who  bred  the  small)  ( ?)  sheep  of  the  land. 

And  at  Horonaim  dwelt  the  .  .  .  And  Chemosh  said  to  me,  Go  down, 
fight  against  Horonaim;  so  I  went  down  (and  fought  against  the  city 
many  days,  and)  Chemosh  (restored  it)  in  my  days  .  .  -1 

During  the  reign  of  Ahab  there  appeared  one  of  the  great 
creative  personalities  of  history,  the  desert  prophet  Elijah.  He 
announced  the  complete  overthrow  of  Ahab's  house,  and,  at  the 
instigation  of  his  successor,  Elisha,  the  impetuous  general  Jehu 
accomplished  the  destruction.  Elijah  was  the  forerunner  and 
leader  of  a  social  and  religious  movement  without  which  the 
history  and  literature  of  Israel  would  not  be  worth  prolonged 
consideration.  Elijah  did  his  work  alone,  though  not  without 
sympathizers  and  followers.  Among  these,  the  stories  of  his 
wonderful  deeds  and  words  were  fondly  treasured  and  rehearsed 
and,  before  many  years  had  passed,  were  committed  to  writing. 
The  stories  which  appear  as  chapters  17-19  and  21  of  1  Kings 
clearly  show  that  they  are  excerpts  from  a  more  complete  narra- 
tive. The  sudden  introduction  of  Elijah  (17  *)  is  hardly  explicable 
except  on  the  supposition  that  the  beginning  of  the  original 
narrative  has  not  been  preserved.  Chapter  18,  too,  suggests 
that  some  account  had  previously  been  given  of  the  persecution 
of  Jehovah's  prophets  by  Jezebel. 

1  Kent,  Israel's  Historical  and  Bibliographical  Narratives,  p.  495. 


EARLY  PROSE  NARRATIVES  OF  NORTHERN  ISRAEL    91 

In  this  son  of  the  Gilead  hills  the  narrators  had  a  hero  to  kindle 
the  imagination.  His  sudden  appearances  and  vanishings  created 
mystery ;  his  physical  prowess  was  such  that  he  could  run  twelve 
miles  ahead  of  Ahab's  chariot;  his  speech  came  forth  a  burning 
fire.  Note  his  power  of  quick,  crushing  retort,  "When  Ahab  saw 
Elijah,  Ahab  said  unto  him,  'Is  it  thou,  thou  troubler  of  Israel?' 
And  he  answered,  '  I  have  not  troubled  Israel ;  but  thou,  and  thy 
father's  house ; ' " 1  "  '  Hast  thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy  ? '  And 
he  answered,  'I  have  found  thee,  because  thou  hast  sold  thyself 
to  do  that  which  is  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah.' " 2  Note  again 
his  scathing  sarcasm  to  the  priests  of  Baal,  "Cry  aloud;  for  he  is 
a  god :  either  he  is  musing,  or  he  is  gone  aside,  or  he  is  on  a  journey, 
or  peradventure  he  sleepeth  and  must  be  awaked." 3  This  scene 
has  been  vividly  reproduced  in  Tennyson's  Palace  of  Art :  — 

One  was  the  Tishbite  whom  the  raven  fed, 

As  when  he  stood  on  Carmel  steeps, 
With  one  arm  stretched  out  bare,  and  mocking  said, 

"Come  cry  aloud —  he  sleeps." 

Tall,  eager,  lean,  and  strong,  his  cloak  wind  borne 

Behind,  his  forehead  heavenly  bright 
From  the  clear  marble  pouring  glorious  scorn, 

Lit  as  with  inner  light. 

The  stories  also  give  us  a  picture  of  the  hour  of  reaction  after 
the  great  contest  and  its  apparent  fruitlessness.  The  juniper 
tree  has  become  a  proverbial  symbol  for  an  experience  common  to 
all  high  natures  that  dare  undertake  great  things. 

And  Ahab  told  Jezebel  all  that  Elijah  had  done,  and  withal  how  he 
had  slain  all  the  prophets  with  the  sword.  Then  Jezebel  sent  a  messenge, 
unto  Elijah,  saying,  So  let  the  gods  do  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  I  make 
not  thy  life  as  the  life  of  one  of  them  by  to-morrow  about  this  time.  And 
when  he  saw  that,  he  arose,  and  went  for  his  life,  and  came  to  Beersheba, 
which  belongeth  to  Judah,  and  left  his  servant  there.  But  he  himself 
went  a  day's  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and  came  and  sat  down  under 
a  juniper-tree:  and  he  requested  for  himself  that  he  might  die,  and  said, 
It  is  enough ;  now,  0  Jehovah,  take  away  my  life ;  for  I  am  not  better 
than  my  fathers.  And  he  lay  down  and  slept  under  a  juniper-tree ;  and, 
behold,  an  angel  touched  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Arise  and  eat.  And  he 

1 1  Kings  18  "-18.  *  1  Kings  21  ".  » 1  Kings  18  ". 


92  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

looked,  and,  behold,  there  was  at  his  head  a  cake  baken  on  the  coals, 
and  a  cruse  of  water.  And  he  did  eat  and  drink,  and  laid  him  down 
again.  And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  came  again  the  second  time,  and  touched 
him,  and  said,  Arise  and  eat,  because  the  journey  is  too  great  for  thee. 
And  he  arose,  and  did  eat  and  drink,  and  went  in  the  strength  of  that 
food  forty  days  and  forty  nights  unto  Horeb  the  mount  of  God.1 

From  the  juniper  tree,  God's  message  sent  the  prophet  to 
Horeb,  where  Israel  had  first  entered  into  covenant  with  the  God 
who  revealed  himself  to  Moses  in  the  cloud-hidden  peak.  The 
wind,  the  trembling  earth,  and  flashing  lightning  were  still  there 
to  affright;  but  Jehovah,  of  old  the  God  of  cloud  and  thunder, 
now  spoke  to  his  sorely  tried  servant,  in  "a  voice  of  gentle  still- 
ness," a  message  of  comfort  and  of  courage  that  sent  him  hence 
to  a  work  more  significant  than  any  yet  accomplished. 

In  the  Elijah  narratives,  there  is  the  same  unerring  selection 
of  material  and  rapidity  of  movement  that  characterize  the  early 
Judean  prose.  The  dialogue  never  overflows  its  banks  and  runs 
sluggish,  as  it  so  often  does  in  modern  stories;  it  is  just  sufficient 
to  give  the  situation  and  general  temper  of  each  of  the  characters. 
Obadiah,  the  royal  chamberlain,  reveals  himself  perfectly  in  his 
one  meeting  with  Elijah. 

And  as  Obadiah  was  in  the  way,  behold,  Elijah  met  him :  and  he  knew 
him,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  said,  Is  it  thou,  my  lord  Elijah?  And  he 
answered  him,  It  is  I :  go,  tell  thy  lord,  Behold,  Elijah  is  here.  And  he 
said,  Wherein  have  I  sinned,  that  thou  wouldest  deliver  thy  servant 
into  the  hand  of  Ahab,  to  slay  me  ?  As  Jehovah  thy  God  liveth,  there  is 
no  nation  or  kingdom,  whither  my  lord  hath  not  sent  to  seek  thee :  and 
when  they  said,  He  is  not  here,  he  took  an  oath  of  the  kingdom  and  nation, 
that  they  found  thee  not.  And  now  thou  sayest,  Go,  tell  thy  lord,  Behold, 
Elijah  is  here.  And  it  will  come  to  pass,  as  soon  as  I  am  gone  from  thee, 
that  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  will  carry  thee  whither  I  know  not;  and  so 
when  I  come  and  tell  Ahab,  and  he  cannot  find  thee,  he  will  slay  me: 
but  I  thy  servant  fear  Jehovah  from  my  youth.  Was  it  not  told  my  lord 
what  I  did  when  Jezebel  slew  the  prophets  of  Jehovah,  how  I  hid  a  hun- 
dred men  of  Jehovah's  prophets  by  fifty  in  a  cave,  and  fed  them  with 
bread  and  water?  And  now  thou  sayest,  Go,  tell  thy  lord,  Behold, 
Elijah  is  here;  and  he  will  slay  me.  And  Elijah  said,  As  Jehovah  of  hosts 

1 1  Kings  19  l-*. 


EARLY  PROSE  NARRATIVES  OF  NORTHERN  ISRAEL    93 

liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  I  will  surely  show  myself  unto  him  to-day. 
So  Obadiah  went  to  meet  Ahab,  and  told  him.1 

He's  a  good  man  and  true,  but  very  cautious  for  his  own  safety. 
What  English  novel  is  without  this  type  of  servant  —  small 
editions  of  Ahab's  chamberlain ! 

Ahab's  character  is  most  consistent  throughout  all  the  scenes. 
He  covers  his  fear  when  Elijah  meets  him  with  a  show  of  bravado, 
but  he  does  just  what  Elijah  tells  him  to  do.  "Is  it  thou,  thou 
troubler  of  Israel?"  "I  have  not  troubled  Israel;  but  thou,  and 
thy  father's  house.  .  .  .  Now  therefore  send,  and  gather  to  me 
all  Israel  unto  Mount  Carmel.  ..."  "So  Ahab  sent  .  .  .  and 
gathered."  At  Naboth's  vineyard,  the  king  meets  Elijah  with 
"Hast  thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy?"  Then  Elijah  speaks, 
and  no  further  word  is  heard  from  Ahab.  These  glimpses  through 
well-managed  dialogue,  are  quite  consistent  with  the  picture  we 
have  of  Ahab  sulking  because  he  cannot  get  the  playground  he 
wants,  and  scorned  by  his  wife  who,  whatever  else  she  may  have 
been,  was  to  the  last  a  woman  of  strength  and  courage. 

In  the  Elijah  stories,  Northern  Israel  had  a  book  of  narratives 
hardly  inferior,  from  a  purely  literary  point  of  view,  to  the  Saul 
and  David  stories  written  in  Southern  Israel  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  earlier.2  Elisha  appeared  in  the  historical  narrative  that  we 
counted  the  earliest  connected  prose  of  Northern  Israel,  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  narratives  concerning  him  probably  belong 
later  than  the  Elijah  stories  and  seem,  on  the  whole,  inferior  both 
in  historical  and  literary  value. 

However  far  Northern  Israel  may  have  been  behind  Judah  in 
date  of  the  beginnings  of  connected  prose  writing,  in  the  teachings 
of  Elijah  there  is  a  great  advance  on  anything  previously  formu- 
lated in  Israel  or  Judah.  Elijah  stood  for  two  epoch-making 
principles.  One  was  the  total  exclusion  of  the  recognition  of  any 
god  but  Jehovah  in  Israel.  This  was  of  deep  and  far-reaching 
political  significance.  International  alliances  demanded  inter- 
national marriages  in  the  days  of  Ahab,  or  Solomon,  as  in  modern 
Europe.  The  Tell-el-Amarna  tablets  contain  numerous  references 

1 1  Kings  18  7-16a. 

2  Ahab  was  killed  about  850  B.C.,  and  we  may  infer  that  these  Elijah 
stories  were  in  written  form  some  fifty  years  later. 


94  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

to  such  marriages  between  the  widely  separated  rulers  of  the  Nile 
and  Euphrates  valleys,  six  hundred  years  before  Ahab's  time. 
The  letter  of  Amenophis  III,  for  example,  to  Kadashman-Bel 
shows  that  the  Babylonian  ruler  had  raised  question  in  a  previous 
letter  as  to  whether  the  Egyptian  queen,  his  sister,  is  being  properly 
treated,  and  Kadashman-Bel,  writing  to  Amenophis,  says  "As 
for  the  damsel,  my  daughter,  for  the  marriage  of  whom  thou  hast 
written  me,  she  is  mature  and  marriageable;  send  and  let  her 
be  taken."  When  Solomon  introduced  this  ancient  practice  in 
Israel  on  a  large  scale,  it  was  but  one  of  the  various  steps  he  took 
in  the  direction  of  making  Israel  a  nation  among  the  nations.  His 
marriage  with  an  Egyptian  princess  was  matter  of  great  pride  in 
his  own  day  and  even  later.  '  Such  intermarriage  meant,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  the  introduction  at  the  capital  of  various  foreign 
religions;  had  the  Egyptian  princess  been  refused  the  right  to 
worship  her  own  gods  in  her  own  way,  the  marriage  alliance  would 
quickly  have  proved  cause  of  international  quarrel  rather  than 
international  comity.  The  "high  places"  which  Solomon  built 
for  his  queens  stood  for  full  three  hundred  years,  until  King  Josiah, 
under  the  impulse  of  the  new  law  of  Deuteronomy,  destroyed  them. 

Men  writing  later  than  Elijah  saw  in  Solomon's  foreign  marriages 
great  evil,  but  there  is  no  indication  that  they  were  especially 
condemned  hi  Solomon's  day.  Elijah  was  the  first  prophet  to 
maintain  definitely  that  Jehovah  alone  should  be  worshipped  in 
the  land  of  Israel.  The  issue  was  raised  in  his  day  by  the  fact 
that  Omri  had,  in  developing  a  strong  national  policy,  espoused 
his  son  Ahab  to  the  daughter  of  the  Phoenician  king,  Ethbaal,  and 
she  proved  an  earnest  propagator  of  her  father's  religion. 

An  international  policy  like  that  of  Omri  and  Ahab  meant,  not 
only  the  introduction  of  foreign  gods,  but  the  reintroduction  of 
despotic  rule,  such  as  Israel  had  shaken  off  at  the  death  of  Solomon. 
It  did  not  occur  to  Ahab  of  Israel,  however  greedy  he  might  be  of 
the  vineyard  adjoining  his  estate  in  Jezreel,  that  he  could  take 
Naboth's  ancestral  land  by  force  or  guile.  He  made  his  offers 
of  money  or  exchange  of  land,  and  when  the  private  citizen  refused, 
there  was  nothing  left  for  the  king  but  acquiescence.  Private 
property  rights,  even  against  the  king,  were  sacred  in  Israel. 
To  Jezebel,  trained  in  the  Phoenician  court,  one  seemed  no  king 


EARLY  PROSE  NARRATIVES  OF  NORTHERN  ISRAEL    95 

who  could  not  obtain  anything  he  chose  from  his  subject.  "Dost 
thou  now  govern  the  kingdom  of  Israel?"  she  cried,  "Arise,  and 
eat  bread,  and  let  thy  heart  be  merry ;  I  will  give  thee  the  vineyard 
of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite."  She  avoids  a  possible  popular  outbreak 
by  using  Israel's  ancient  machinery  of  justice,  the  village  court 
of  elders.  With  suborned  witnesses  and  a  mock  trial,  she  secures 
the  judicial  murder  of  Naboth,  and  the  desired  land  reverts  to  the 
king. 

To  the  daughter  of  the  Phoenician  king,  it  is  simple  enough; 
but  hi  Israel  there  is  a  force  which  the  Phoenician  does  not  under- 
stand, a  force  that  will  grind  to  powder  the  royal  house  daring  to 
violate  the  right  of  the  private  citizen.  It  was  not  hi  connection 
with  the  introduction  of  Baal  worship  that  Elijah  appeared  to 
announce  the  complete  destruction  of  the  house  of  Omri  and 
Ahab,  but  in  Naboth's  vineyard  when  Ahab  had  "killed  and 
taken  possession." 

The  two  great  principles,  for  which  Elijah  stood  and  which 
make  him  one  of  the  most  significant  figures  in  the  history  of 
civilization,  were  really  one,  and  that  one  was  absolute  loyalty  to 
a  God  who  cares  for  the  rights  of  the  common  citizen.  Religion 
and  politics  were  wedded  in  ancient  Israel ;  they  are  not  divorce- 
able  where  religion  is  the  worship  of  a  God  who  cares. 


THE   GREAT   EPHRAIMITE   HISTORY 

(About  800  to  750  B.C.) 

ELIJAH  announced  the  downfall  of  Ahab's  house,  and  Elisha 
took  active  measures  to  realize  the  prediction,  sending  his  servant 
to  anoint  the  impetuous  general  of  the  army  as  king,  in  the  place 
of  Ahab's  reigning  son.  The  rebellion,  instantly  roused,  directed 
itself  to  the  bloody  extermination  of  all  ho  had  adopted  the 
worship  of  the  Phoenician  Baal  and,  especially,  of  Ahab's  family ; 
the  uprising  was  successful  and  established  a  dynasty  that  ruled 
for  a  full  century.  The  struggle  was,  however,  terribly  costly  in 
life  and  left  the  nation,  for  a  time,  sadly  weakened.  The  picture 
on  the  obelisk  of  Shalmaneser  of  Assyria  with  its  inscription, 
"Tribute  of  Jehu  son  of  Omri :  silver,  gold,  a  golden  bowl,  golden 
goblets,  a  golden  ladle,  golden  pitchers,  bars  of  lead,  a  staff  for 
the  hand  of  the  king,  spear  shafts,  I  received  from  him,"  bears 
testimony  to  the  heavy  price  that  the  new  king  had  to  pay  to 
Assyria,  the  advancing  power  of  the  east.  Twelve  years  before, 
Israel  had  first  come  into  contact  with  Assyria,  when  Ahab,  in 
alliance  with  his  Syrian  neighbors,  had  met  the  Assyrian  army  in 
the  battle  of  Karkar,  north  of  Palestine. 

In  subsequent  years,  Assyria  was  to  play  a  decisive  part  in  Israel's 
history,  but  the  force  of  Shalmaneser's  next  campaign  fell  upon 
Syria  rather  than  Israel,  and  left  Jehu's  son  able  to  cope  on  more 
than  equal  terms  with  Damascus.  Then  there  was  a  period  of 
fifty  years  of  respite  from  further  serious  advance  westward  on 
the  part  of  Assyria,  and  the  house  of  Jehu  enjoyed  such  prosperity 
as  troubled  Israel  had  not  known  since  the  death  of  Solomon. 
Jehu's  son  was  able  to  defeat  the  weakened  Syrians,  and  his  son 
regained  Israel's  old,  east-Jordan  territory.  The  king  of  the  next 
generation,  Jeroboam  II,  ruled  for  more  than  forty  years  (781- 
740)  over  an  extensive  territory,  troubled  by  no  powerful  invader. 

96 


THE  GREAT  EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY  97 

It  was  evidently  during  this  era  of  peace  and  prosperity  that 
men  of  northern  Israel  gathered  the  writings  and  traditions  of 
their  people's  past  and  compiled  a  great  historical  work  similar 
to  that  which  had  been  composed  in  Judah  during  the  previous 
century.  Generations  later,  material  from  this  document  was 
inwoven  with  the  Judean  history  to  make  a  more  complete  national 
history.  The  two  documents  were  so  closely  interwoven  and  were 
so  similar  in  their  form  and  thought  that  it  is  often  impossible 
to  separate  them  with  any  certainty.  A  careful  examination, 
however,  of  the  narrative  books  of  the  Hexateuch l  makes  it  clear 
that  two  histories,  each  of  which  had  assumed  a  fairly  complete 
form  by  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  were  inwoven; 
some  duplications  of  material  and  certain  recurring  differences  in 
language  and  point  of  view  are  satisfactorily  explained  only  on  this 
hypothesis.  It  is  possible,  too,  in  the  case  of  a  large  part  of  the 
material,  to  separate  the  strands  with  much  of  certainty. 

It  is  not  as  clear  that  these  two  documents  continue  through 
the  book  of  Judges,  though  the  indications  seem  to  warrant  the 
conclusion  that  they  do.  This  view  was  adopted  in  Chapter  V, 
in  the  consideration  of  the  Judean  history,  and  it  is  probable  also 
that  the  Ephraimite  history  contained,  from  the  outset,  stories 
of  the  days  of  the  Judges.2  That  the  book  is  composite  is  unques- 
tionable, and  that  its  materials  are,  in  some  instances,  the  product 
of  the  North  and,  in  others,  of  the  South,  is  perfectly  clear.  Some- 
times an  individual  story  gives  evidence  of  compilation  from 
two  narratives,  in  other  cases  an  entire  story  is  an  original  literary 
unit  preserved  in  Israel  or  Judah.  The  Gideon  history  has 
furnished  an  interesting  problem  for  analysis.  A  story  of  one, 
Jerubbaal,  who  pursued  and  successfully  attacked  the  Midianites 
with  a  small  band  of  followers  is  assimilated  with  the  story  of 
Gideon  who  accomplished  the  same  feat.  In  Chapter  V,  the 
Judean  Gideon  story  was  given;  the  Jerubbaal  story,  a  part  of 
which  is  printed  below,  is  probably  to  be  assigned  to  the  Ephra- 
imite document. 

1  The  term  Hexateuch  has  come  into  use  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
Joshua  is  in  its  origin  one  with  the  Pentateuch ;  it  was  compiled  from  the 
same  great  histories,  which  originally  extended  through  the  early  conquest. 

2  See  Moore,  Judges,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  pp.  xxv-xxxiii. 


98  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Then  Jerabbaal,  who  is  Gideon,  and  all  the  people  that  were  with 
him,  rose  up  early,  and  encamped  beside  the  spring  of  Harod :  and  the 
camp  of  Midian  was  on  the  north  side  of  them,  by  the  hill  of  Moreh,  in 
the  valley. 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  Gideon,  The  people  that  are  with  thee  are  too 
many  for  me  to  give  the  Midianites  into  their  hand,  lest  Israel  vaunt 
themselves  against  me,  saying,  Mine  own  hand  hath  saved  me.  Now 
therefore  proclaim  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  saying,  Whosoever  is  fearful 
and  trembling,  let  him  return  and  depart  from  mount  Gilead.  And  there 
returned  of  the  people  twenty  and  two  thousand;  and  there  remained  ten 
thousand. 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  Gideon,  The  people  are  yet  too  many ;  bring 
them  down  unto  the  water,  and  I  will  try  them  for  thee  there :  and  it  shall 
be,  that  of  whom  I  say  unto  thee,  'This  shall  go  with  thee,  the  same  shall 
go  with  thee ;  and  of  whomsoever  I  say  unto  thee,  This  shall  not  go  with 
thee,  the  same  shall  not  go.  So  he  brought  down  the  people  unto  the 
water:  and  Jehovah  said  unto  Gideon,  Every  one  that  lappeth  of  the 
water  with  his  tongue,  as  a  dog  lappeth,  him  shalt  thou  set  by  himself ; 
likewise  every  one  that  boweth  down  upon  his  knees  to  drink.  And  the 
number  of  them  that  lapped,  putting  their  hand  to  their  mouth,  was 
three  hundred  men :  but  all  the  rest  of  the  people  bowed  down  upon  their 
knees  to  drink  water.  And  Jehovah  said  unto  Gideon,  By  the  three 
hundred  men  that  lapped  will  I  save  you,  and  deliver  the  Midianites  into 
thy  hand ;  and  let  all  the  people  go  every  man  unto  his  place.  So  the 
people  took  victuals  in  their  hand,  and  their  trumpets ;  and  he  sent  all  the 
men  of  Israel  every  man  unto  his  tent,  but  retained  the  three  hundred 
men :  and  the  camp  of  Midian  was  beneath  them  in  the  valley. 

And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  night,  that  Jehovah  said  unto  him,  Arise, 
get  thee  down  into  the  camp ;  for  I  have  delivered  it  into  thy  hand.  But 
if  thou  fear  to  go  down,  go  thou  with  Purah  thy  servant  down  to  the 
camp:  and  thou  shalt  hear  what  they  say;  and  afterward  shall  thy 
hands  be  strengthened  to  go  down  into  the  camp.  Then  went  he  down 
with  Purah  his  servant  unto  the  outermost  part  of  the  armed  men  that 
were  in  the  camp.  And  the  Midianites  and  the  Amalekites  and  all  the 
children  of  the  east  lay  along  in  the  valley  like  locusts  for  multitude ;  and 
their  camels  were  without  number,  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore 
for  multitude.  And  when  Gideon  was  come,  behold,  there  was  a  man 
telling  a  dream  unto  his  fellow ;  and  he  said,  Behold,  I  dreamed  a  dream ; 
and,  lo,  a  cake  of  barley  bread  tumbled  into  the  camp  of  Midian,  and 
came  unto  the  tent,  and  smote  it  so  that  it  fell,  and  turned  it  upside  down, 
so  that  the  tent  lay  flat.  And  his  fellow  answered  and  said,  This  is 


THE  GREAT  EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY  99 

nothing  else  save  the  sword  of  Gideon  the  son  of  Joash,  a  man  of  Israel: 
into  his  hand  God  hath  delivered  Midian,  and  all  the  host. 

And  it  was  so,  when  Gideon  heard  the  telling  of  the  dream,  and  the 
interpretation  thereof,  that  he  worshipped;  and  he  returned  into  the 
camp  of  Israel,  and  said,  Arise;  for  Jehovah  hath  delivered  into  your 
hand  the  host  of  Midian.  And  he  divided  the  three  hundred  men  into 
three  companies,  and  he  put  into  the  hands  of  all  of  them  trumpets,  and 
empty  pitchers,  with  torches  within  the  pitchers.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Look  on  me,  and  do  likewise :  and,  behold,  when  I  come  to  the  outermost 
part  of  the  camp,  it  shall  be  that,  as  I  do,  so  shall  ye  do.  When  I  blow  the 
trumpet,  I  and  all  that  are  with  me,  then  blow  ye  the  trumpets  also  on 
every  side  of  all  the  camp,  and  say,  For  Jehovah  and  for  Gideon. 

So  Gideon,  and  the  hundred  men  that  were  with  him,  came  unto  the 
outermost  part  of  the  camp  in  the  beginning  of  the  middle  watch,  when 
they  had  but  newly  set  the  watch :  and  they  blew  the  trumpets,  and  brake 
in  pieces  the  pitchers  that  were  in  their  hands.  And  the  three  companies 
blew  the  trumpets,  and  brake  the  pitchers,  and  held  the  torches  in  their 
left  hands,  and  the  trumpets  in  their  right  hands  wherewith  to  blow; 
and  they  cried,  The  sword  of  Jehovah  and  of  Gideon.  And  they  stood 
every  man  in  his  place  round  about  the  camp ;  and  all  the  host  ran ;  and 
they  shouted,  and  put  them  to  flight.  And  they  blew  the  three  hundred 
trumpets,  and  Jehovah  set  every  man's  sword  against  his  fellow,  and 
against  all  the  host;  and  the  host  fled  as  far  as  Beth-shittah  toward 
Zererah,  as  far  as  the  border  of  Abelmeholah,  by  Tabbath.  And  the  men 
of  Israel  were  gathered  together  out  of  Naphtali,  and  out  of  Asher,  and 
out  of  all  Manasseh,  and  pursued  after  Midian. 

In  reading  Genesis,  the  first  trace  of  the  northern  history  that 
one  meets  is  in  chapter  15.  The  attempt  is  often  made  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  material  taken  from  it  and  that  from  the 
Judean  history  in  this  chapter,  but  the  results  are  by  no  means 
certain.  The  section  gives  the  account  of  the  promise  to  Abram 
that  his  seed  shall  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven  in  number  and  shall 
possess  the  land  of  the  Amorite.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the 
northern  history  did  not  attempt  to  carry  the  story  much  further 
back  and  began  with  the  reputed  ancestor  of  Israel ;  if  this  be  so, 
the  historians  of  Israel  undertook  a  less  ambitious  task  than  those 
of  Judah,  who  began  with  the  creation  of  man  and  sought  to  trace 
the  origin  of  civilization. 

1  Judges  7  1~M. 


100  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  Ephraimite  history  is  not  met  again  until  the  twentieth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  the  story  of  Abraham  in  Gerar. 

And  Abraham  journeyed  from  thence  toward  the  land  of  the  South, 
and  dwelt  between  Kadesh  and  Shur :  and  he  sojourned  in  Gerar.  And 
Abraham  said  of  Sarah  his  wife,  She  is  my  sister :  and  Abimelech  king  of 
Gerar  sent,  and  took  Sarah.  But  God  came  to  Abimelech  in  a  dream 
of  the  night,  and  said  to  him,  Behold,  thou  art  but  a  dead  man,  because 
of  the  woman  whom  thou  hast  taken ;  for  she  is  a  man's  wife.  Now 
Abimelech  had  not  come  near  her :  and  he  said,  Lord,  wilt  thou  slay  even  a 
righteous  nation  ?  Said  he  not  himself  unto  me,  She  is  my  sister  ?  and  she, 
even  she  herself  said,  He  is  my  brother :  in  the  integrity  of  my  heart  and 
the  innocency  of  my  hands  have  I  done  this.  And  God  said  unto  him  in 
the  dream,  Yea,  I  know  that  in  the  integrity  of  thy  heart  thou  hast  done 
this,  and  I  also  withheld  thee  from  sinning  against  me :  therefore  suffered 
I  thee  not  to  touch  her.  Now  therefore  restore  the  man's  wife ;  for  he  is 
a  prophet,  and  he  shall  pray  for  thee,  and  thou  shalt  live :  and  if  thou 
restore  her  not,  know  thou  that  thou  shalt  surely  die,  thou,  and  all  that 
are  thine. 

And  Abimelech  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  called  all  his  servants, 
and  told  all  these  things  in  their  ears:  and  the  men  were  sore  afraid. 
Then  Abimelech  called  Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  What  hast  thou 
done  unto  us?  and  wherein  have  I  sinned  against  thee,  that  thou  hast 
brought  on  me  and  on  my  kingdom  a  great  sin?  thou  hast  done  deeds 
unto  me  that  ought  not  to  be  done.  And  Abimelech  said  unto  Abraham, 
What  sawest  thou,  that  thou  hast  done  this  thing  ?  And  Abraham  said, 
Because  I  thought,  Surely  the  fear  of  God  is  not  in  this  place ;  and  they 
will  slay  me  for  my  wife's  sake.  And  moreover  she  is  indeed  my  sister, 
the  daughter  of  my  father,  but  not  the  daughter  of  my  mother ;  and  she 
became  my  wife :  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  God  caused  me  to  wander 
from  my  father's  house,  that  I  said  unto  her,  This  is  thy  kindness  which 
thou  shalt  show  unto  me :  at  every  place  whither  we  shall  come,  say  of  me, 
He  is  my  brother.  And  Abimelech  took  sheep  and  oxen,  and  men-servants 
and  women-servants,  and  gave  them  unto  Abraham,  and  restored  him 
Sarah  his  wife.  And  Abimelech  said,  Behold,  my  land  is  before  thee: 
dwell  where  it  pleaseth  thee.  And  unto  Sarah  he  said,  Behold,  I  have 
given  thy  brother  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver:  behold,  it  is  for  thee  a 
covering  of  the  eyes  to  all  that  are  with  thee ;  and  in  respect  of  all  thou 
art  righted.  And  Abraham  prayed  unto  God:  and  God  healed  Abim- 
elech, and  his  wife,  and  his  maid-servants ;  and  they  bare  children.  For 
Jehovah  had  fast  closed  up  all  the  wombs  of  the  house  of  Abimelech, 
because  of  Sarah,  Abraham's  wife. 


THE  GREAT  EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY  101 

This  narrative  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  variant  of  the  very 
similar  story  of  the  Judean  history,  Genesis  12.  It  shows,  perhaps, 
a  slight  ethical  advance  upon  that  account  which  indicated  no 
consciousness  that  Abraham's  conduct  was  discreditable.  This 
writer  makes  it  clear  that  Abraham's  lie  was  only  a  half  lie  — 
from  our  point  of  view,  no  less  reprehensible,  but  possibly  indicat- 
ing in  the  narrator  a  slight  advance  upon  the  naivete"  of  the  earlier 
writing.  Another  difference  may  be  noted  in  God's  method  of 
communicating ;  here  it  is  through  a  dream  instead  of  by  direct 
speech.  This  doubtless  represents  an  advance  upon  the  child- 
like ideas  of  the  earlier  historians  and  seems  to  be  characteristic 
of  the  Ephraimite  history. 

In  passing,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  the  writer's  idea  of  a  prophet, 
"He  is  a  prophet,  and  he  shall  pray  for  thee,  and  thou  shalt  live." 
Obviously  "prophet"  is  not  used  here  in  its  ordinary  English 
sense  of  predictor,  but  rather  as  indicating  one  who  is  in  close  and 
intimate  relation  with  God.  Such  relations  are  not,  however, 
incompatible  with  dishonest  and  unchivalrous  conduct;  the 
ethical  ideals  of  the  age  are  still  very  crude.  Is  it  possible  that 
there  is  a  bit  of  sarcasm  in  the  words  of  Abimelech  to  Sarah, 
"Behold  I  have  given  thy  brother  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver"? 
The  word  italicized  is  surely  ironical  from  our  point  of  view. 

A  considerable  part  of  chapter  21  is  ascribed  to  this  document.1 
This  section  affords  another  instance  of  the  writer's  avoidance 
of  anthropomorphic  pictures;  an  angel  calls  down  from  heaven, 
but  God  does  not  come  down  and  speak  in  any  bodily  form.  The 
narrative  seeks  to  account  for  the  name  Beersheba,  a  place  im- 
portant later  on  in  the  story,  but,  in  general,  the  Ephraimite 
narratives  show  less  tendency  to  explain  the  origin  of  everything 
than  the  Judean  exhibited. 

The  story  of  the  offering  of  Isaac  follows :  — 

And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  did  prove  Abraham, 
and  said  unto  him,  Abraham;  and  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said 
Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  whom  thou  lovest,  even  Isaac,  and  get 
thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah;  and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt-offering 
upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of.  And  Abraham  rose 
early  in  the  morning,  and  saddled  his  ass,  and  took  two  of  his  young  men 

1  w.  1  f.,  6,  8-24,  27,  31. 


102  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

with  him,  and  Isaac  his  son ;  and  he  clave  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering, 
and  rose  up,  and  went  unto  the  place  of  which  God  had  told  him.  On  the 
third  day  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  place  afar  off.  And 
Abraham  said  unto  his  young  men,  Abide  ye  here  with  the  ass,  and  I  and 
the  lad  will  go  yonder ;  and  we  will  worship,  and  come  again  to  you. 
And  Abraham  took  the  wood  of  the  burnt-offering,  and  laid  it  upon  Isaac 
his  son ;  and  he  took  in  his  hand  the  fire  and  the  knife ;  and  they  went  both 
of  them  together.  And  Isaac  spake  unto  Abraham  his  father,  and  said, 
My  father :  and  he  said,  Here  am  I,  my  son.  And  he  said,  Behold,  the 
fire  and  the  wood :  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering  ?  And 
Abraham  said,  God  will  provide  himself  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering,  my 
son :  so  they  went  both  of  them  together. 

And  they  came  to  the  place  which  God  had  told  him  of ;  and  Abraham 
built  the  altar  there,  and  laid  the  wood  in  order,  and  bound  Isaac  his  son, 
and  laid  him  on  the  altar,  upon  the  wood.  And  Abraham  stretched 
forth  his  hand,  and  took  the  knife  to  slay  his  son.  And  the  angel  of 
Jehovah  called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and  said,  Abraham,  Abraham: 
and  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said,  Lay  not  thy  hand  upon  the  lad, 
neither  do  thou  anything  unto  him ;  for  now  I  know  that  thou  f earest  God, 
seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me.  And 
Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  looked,  and,  behold,  behind  him  a  ram 
caught  in  the  thicket  by  his  horns :  and  Abraham  went  and  took  the  ram, 
and  offered  him  up  for  a  burnt-offering  in  the  stead  of  his  son.  And 
Abraham  called  the  name  of  that  place  Jehovah-jireh :  as  it  is  said  to  this 
day,  In  the  mount  of  Jehovah  it  shall  be  provided.  And  the  angel 
of  Jehovah  called  unto  Abraham  a  second  time  out  of  heaven,  and  said, 
By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  Jehovah,  because  thou  hast  done  this 
thing,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  that  in  blessing  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the 
heavens,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore ;  and  thy  seed  shall 
possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  be  blessed;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice.  So  Abraham 
returned  unto  his  young  men,  and  they  rose  up  and  went  together  to 
Beersheba;  and  Abraham  dwelt  at  Beersheba.1 

This  is  one  of  the  best-told  stories  in  the  entire  collection,  as 
its  perennial  attractiveness  would  indicate,  though  it  seems  to 
lack  something  of  the  perfection  of  form  that  the  best  Judean 
stories  possess;  the  movement  seems  just  a  little  labored  in 
comparison  with  those.  But,  it  would  be  difficult  to  excel 

1  Genesis  22  1-19. 


THE  GREAT  EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY  103 

in  any  selections  from  the  Judean  history  the  Ephraimite  form  of 
the  Joseph  stories. 

And  they  laded  their  asses  with  their  grain,  and  departed  thence. 
And  they  came  unto  Jacob  their  father  unto  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
told  him  all  that  had  befallen  them,  saying,  The  man,  the  lord  of  the 
land,  spake  roughly  with  us,  and  took  us  for  spies  of  the  country.  And 
we  said  unto  him,  We  are  true  men;  we  are  no  spies:  we  are  twelve 
brethren,  sons  of  our  father;  one  is  not,  and  the  youngest  is  this  day 
with  our  father  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  And  the  man,  the  lord  of  the 
land,  said  unto  us,  Hereby  shall  I  know  that  ye  are  true  men :  leave  one 
of  your  brethren  with  me,  and  take  grain  for  the  famine  of  your  houses, 
and  go  your  way ;  and  bring  your  youngest  brother  unto  me :  then  shall 
I  know  that  ye  are  no  spies,  but  that  ye  are  true  men :  so  will  I  deliver 
you  your  brother,  and  ye  shall  traffic  in  the  land. 

And  it  came  to  pass  as  they  emptied  their  sacks,  that,  behold,  every 
man's  bundle  of  money  was  in  his  sack :  and  when  they  and  their  father 
saw  their  bundles  of  money,  they  were  afraid.  And  their  heart  failed 
them,  and  they  turned  trembling  one  to  another,  saying,  What  is  this 
that  God  hath  done  unto  us?  And  Jacob  their  father  said  unto  them, 
Me  have  ye  bereaved  of  my  children :  Joseph  is  not,  and  Simeon  is  not, 
and  ye  will  take  Benjamin  away:  all  these  things  are  against  me.  And 
Reuben  spake  unto  his  father,  saying,  Slay  my  two  sons,  if  I  bring  him 
not  to  thee :  deliver  him  into  my  hand,  and  I  will  bring  him  to  thee  again.1 

The  story  of  the  finding  of  Moses  is  another  of  the  most  charm- 
ing in  this  document. 

And  there  went  a  man  of  the  house  of  Levi,  and  took  to  wife  a  daughter 
of  Levi.  And  the  woman  conceived,  and  bare  a  son :  and  when  she  saw 
him  that  he  was  a  goodly  child,  she  hid  him  three  months.  And  when 
she  could  not  longer  hide  him,  she  took  for  him  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and 
daubed  it  with  slime  and  with  pitch;  and  she  put  the  child  therein,  and 
laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the  river's  brink.  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off,  to 
know  what  would  be  done  to  him.  And  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  came 
down  to  bathe  at  the  river;  and  her  maidens  walked  along  by  the  river- 
side; and  she  saw  the  ark  among  the  flags,  and  sent  her  handmaid  to 
fetch  it.  And  she  opened  it,  and  saw  the  child :  and,  behold,  the  babe 
wept.  And  she  had  compassion'  on  him,  and  said,  This  is  one  of  the 
Hebrews'  children.  Then  said  his  sister  to  Pharaoh's  daughter,  Shall  I 
go  and  call  thee  a  nurse  of  the  Hebrew  women,  that  she  may  nurse  the 

1  Genesis  42  26-  29~35- 28b- 36-37. 


104  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

child  for  thee?  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  to  her,  Go.  And  the 
maiden  went  and  called  the  child's  mother.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter 
said  unto  her,  Take  this  child  away,  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  give 
thee  thy  wages.  And  the  woman  took  the  child,  and  nursed  it.  And 
the  child  grew,  and  she  brought  him  unto  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  he 
became  her  son.  And  she  called  his  name  Moses,  and  said,  Because  I 
drew  him  out  of  the  water.1 

The  northern  history  was  perhaps  even  more  fond  of  embodying 
old  poems  than  the  southern.  To  it  we  owe  the  preservation  of  the 
Miriam  and  Deborah  songs  and  the  significant  reference  to  the  Book 
of  the  Wars  of  Yaweh.2  That  the  northern  history  had  also  its 
own  version  of  the  Balaam  oracles  was  noticed  in  Chapter  III. 

Viewing  the  two  histories  in  the  large,  the  northern  seems  less 
imbued  with  the  thought  of  the  divine  control  of  the  course  of 
events  and  the  consequence  of  conduct  than  the  Judean.  The  in- 
terest centres  more  in  the  "  dominant  personalities  "  and  in  "  the 
methods  by  which  they  kept  in  touch  with  God." 3  The  stories 
are  so  well  told  that  it  is  difficult  to  see  where  they  fall  short  of 
the  Judean  narratives  of  Saul  and  David  or  of  the  ninth  century 
history  of  the  earlier  times ;  but,  usually,  they  lack  the  spontane- 
ous charm  and  strength  of  these.  It  would  seem  that  cold  reflec- 
tion has  touched  them  just  enough  to  spoil  the  perfect  bloom. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  one  were  to  compare  all  the  prose  thus 
far  considered  with  that  of  the  later  ages  of  Israel's  literature,  it 
would  all  become  fused  into  one  class,  sharply  distinguished  from 
the  later  types.  The  Saul  and  David  stories  of  the  tenth  century, 
the  great  Judean  history  of  the  ninth,  the  earliest  narratives  of 
Northern  Israel  in  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth,  the  Elijah  stories, 
written  near  the  close  of  that  century,  and  the  great  Ephraimite 
history  of  antiquity,  all  belong  to  the  creative  age  of  prophetic 
narration.  During  these  two  centuries  of  prose  writing,  the 
stories,  whether  they  concerned  the  nearer  or  more  remote  past, 
were  still  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  raconteur  who  tells  a  story 
for  the  sake  of  the  story.  Great  conceptions  may  be  embodied 
in  the  narratives,  but  they  are  not  "  sicklied  o'er  "  with  abstract 
reflection.  The  story  as  such  still  prevails. 

1  Exodus  2  l~10.          z  Numbers  21  14. 

8  Sanders  and  Fowler,  Outlines  Biblical  History  and  Literature,  p.  46. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITEBATUBE 

Amos  and  Hosea 
(About  750  to  735  B.C.) 

No  one  of  the  many  books  of  prose  or  poetry  considered  in  the 
preceding  chapters  has  come  down  to  us  in  its  original  form.  The 
Wars  of  Yahweh,  the  Book  of  Jashar,  the  Judean  History,  the 
Ephraimite  History,  and  all  the  rest  are  known  only  as  they  are 
referred  to  in  later  books  or  as  they  may  be  unravelled  from  other 
strands  with  which  they  were  later  inwoven  in  the  processes  of 
compilation.  This  should  not  seem  strange  if  we  recall  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  most  famous  books  of  antiquity  belonging  to 
other  literatures  are  known  only  as  preserved  in  later  writings 
and  in  the  most  fragmentary  form. 

It  was  in  the  later  years  of  Jeroboam  II,  about  750  B.C.,  that 
a  tiny  book  was  written  which  has  survived  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
centuries  and  exists  to-day  with  relatively  slight  changes  from 
its  original  form.  It  is  the  book  of  Amos.  Printed  in  modern 
form  it  would  make  a  pamphlet  of  a  few  pages ;  a  single  instal- 
ment of  almost  any  serious  magazine  article  is  longer.  Ancient 
books  were  usually  brief  in  comparison  with  modern,1  but  this 
one  was  a  very  small  affair  among  the  little  books  of  antiquity. 
In  later  Jewish  tunes,  it  was  customary  to  write  it  along  with  eleven 
others,  some  longer  and  some  shorter,  on  one  roll  which  came  to 
be  known  as  The  Book  of  the  Twelve. 

Commonly  styled  "minor"  because  of  its  brevity,  somewhat 
obscure  to  readers  separated  from  its  time  by  centuries,  until 
recent  years,  the  book  of  Amos  has  been  much  neglected ;  yet  it 

1  One  has  but  to  recall  the  bulk  of  almost  any  volume  of  the  famous 
classical  writings,  even  when  printed  with  introduction,  copious  notes, 
and  glossary,  to  realize  this  fact. 

105 


106  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

should  be  a  book  of  profound  interest,  not  merely  because  it  is 
the  first  preserved  from  ancient  Israel,  but  because  it  is  one  of 
the  most  significant  mile-posts  in  the  upward  progress  of  humanity. 

In  literary  form,  the  book  is  quite  different  from  any  previous 
writing  of  which  we  have  knowledge.  Amos  was  the  first  of  the 
so-called  "writing  prophets,"1  a  group  of  writers  of  whom  it  has 
recently  been  said  by  a  man  of  letters:  "One  who  has  read  the 
Hebrew  prophets,  the  Greek  dramatists,  and  Shakespeare  has  a 
view  of  the  essentials  of  life  in  its  greatness  that  requires  little 
supplementing ;  his  reading  thereafter  is  for  definition  and  detail, 
for  the  temporal  modeling  of  life  in  different  periods  and  races 
and  nations,  for  the  illumination  of  it  in  exceptional  men  and 
women  and  in  high  types  of  character  or  romantic  circumstances  ; 
it  is,  in  general,  rather  verification  of  old  truth  than  anything  new 
that  he  finds."  2  In  our  study  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  we  shall 
strive  to  appreciate  their  development  in  relation  to  the  general 
history  of  Israel,  the  distinctive  qualities  of  their  means  of  self- 
expression,  and  their  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  life. 

The  book  of  Amos  is  made  up  chiefly  of  the  prophet's  addresses, 

1  That  is,  the  prophets  who  themselves  wrote  down  their  messages,  or 
whose  words  were  recorded  as  separate  books  by  their  immediate  followers. 
These  books  are  commonly  known  among  Christian  readers  simply  as 
"the  prophets" ;   but  the  Jews  class  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings 
also  as  "prophets,"  and,  in  recent  years,  it  has  become  widely  prevalent 
among  Biblical  scholars  to  style  the  Judean  and  Ephraimite  documents 
of  the  Pentateuch  as  prophetic  writings  —  a  usage  already  followed  in 
earlier  chapters  of  this  volume.     Evidently  in  any  full  appreciation  of  the 
development  and  significance  of  Hebrew  prophecy,  much  Old  Testament 
material  in  addition  to  the  books  commonly  styled  prophets  must  be 
taken   into   account ;     the   writing   prophets   had   forerunners,   whether 
considered  from  the  point  of  view  of  then*  thought  and  work  or  of  their 
literary  form.     The  earlier  book  that  most  nearly  resembled  Amos  and 
Isaiah,  so  far  as  we  know  the  earlier  books,  was  the  Elijah  document. 
While  this  may  be  acknowledged,  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  in  any 
literature  a  more  distinct  step  to  a  new  literary  form  and  to  new  thought 
than  that  marked  by  the  book  of  Amos. 

To  avoid  cumbrous  terminology  in  this  and  succeeding  chapters 
"prophetic  literature"  or  "prophecy"  will  be  used  to  designate  the 
writing  prophets  alone,  except  where  it  may  seem  necessary  for  some 
special  purpose  to  adopt  the  more  inclusive  use  of  the  terms. 

2  Woodberry,  The  Appreciation  of  Literature,  p.  192. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      107 

preserved  in  brief  form  and  not  always  clearly  distinguished  from 
one  another.  If  we  arrange  the  material  in  accordance  with  its 
natural  divisions,  it  will  appear  as  made  up  of  :  (1)  An  opening 
address,  chapters  1  and  2;  (2)  a  series  of  three  supplementary 
addresses,  chapter  3,  chapter  4,  chapters  5  and  6 ;  (3)  a  section 
made  up  chiefly  of  visions  described  hi  public  address,  chapters 
7-9.  In  the  last  main  division,  there  appear  an  interjected  his- 
torical statement  (7  1(M7)  and  an  address  similar  to  those  of  the 
second  section  (8  4~14).  For  an  understanding  of  the  thought  of 
the  book,  a  knowledge  of  the  historical  events  lying  behind  the 
addresses  as  first  delivered  is  essential.  Amos  was  a  man  keenly 
alive  to  the  conditions  and  events  of  his  own  day  and  entirely 
familiar  with  the  history  of  previous  generations. 

The  opening  address  of  the  book  is  bristling  with  allusions  to 
the  late  wars  with  Syria,  hi  which  the  east-Jordan  Hebrews  had 
suffered  terribly,  to  the  conduct  of  Philistia  and  Phoenicia,  who 
had  taken  advantage  of  Israel's  misfortunes  hi  war  to  sell  her 
captives  as  slaves,  to  the  ruthless  action  of  Edom  and  Moab,  and 
to  the  social  injustices  and  debauchery  of  Israel  herself.  A  mere 
reading  by  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  historical  situation  is 
about  as  confusing  as  for  a  citizen  of  South  Africa  to  read  the 
report  of  a  political  speech  or  reform  sermon  delivered  in  America. 
Should  such  a  reader  study  the  American  address  thoughtfully, 
he  might  begin  to  see  what  the  general  conditions  were  which  called 
it  forth,  and  should  he  follow  this  with  reading  upon  the  national, 
state,  and  municipal  developments  of  America  hi  the  nineteenth 
and  early  twentieth  centuries,  he  would  come  to  understand 
vastly  more  of  what  the  address  meant.  Similarly,  the  thought  of 
Israel's  prophets  is  being  restored  to  the  world  through  the  study 
of  their  writings  with  attention  to  their  literary  form  and  to  the 
events  and  conditions  that  called  them  forth.  The  prophets 
were  first  of  all  men  of  their  time.1 

The  example  used  of  modern  political  orations  or  reform  sermons 
may  serve  to  illustrate  the  prophetic  writings  with  respect  to  their 
character  as  addresses  dealing  with  current  history  and  conditions 
which  the  speaker  would  -see  reformed ;  beyond  this  the  illustra- 

1  James  Robertson,  The  Old  Testament  and  Its  Contents,  p.  85. 


108  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

tion  can  hardly  serve;  such  orations  and  sermons  are  not  ordi- 
narily to  be  classed  as  literature  and  certainly  not  in  the  form 
that  they  are  reported.  When,  however,  one  has  a  Demosthenes 
or  an  Amos  discussing  the  conditions  on  which  alone  national 
independence  may  be  preserved,  then  the  address,  when  written 
down,  is  a  part  of  the  world's  literature. 

The  general  subject  and  period  are  indicated  in  what  we  may 
style  the  title  page  of  the  book  (1 *) :  — 

THE  WORDS  OF  AMOS 
WHO  WAS  AMONG  THE  HERDSMEN  OF  TEKOA 

WHICH  HE  SAW 
CONCERNING  ISRAEL 

IN  THE  DAYS  OF 
UZZIAH    KING  OF  JUDAH 

AND  IN  THE  DAYS  OF 

JEROBOAM  THE  SON  OF  JOASH  KING  OF  ISRAEL 
TWO  YEARS  BEFORE  THE  EARTHQUAKE 

The  long  reigns  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Joash  (Jeroboam  II) 
and  of  Uzziah  were  almost  synchronous,  extending  from  the 
early  part  of  the  eighth  century  to  740  and  737  B.C.,  respectively. 
The  brief  account  of  Jeroboam's  reign  in  2  Kings  14  23~29  speaks 
of  his  success  in  restoring  the  ancien  borders  of  Israel  to  the  far 
north  of  Palestine  and  to  the  east.  Amos  alludes  again  and  again 
to  the  prosperity  and  national  confidence  of  the  people.  He 
speaks  of  the  winter  house  and  the  summer  house,  of  the  houses 
of  ivory  and  of  hewn  stone.  He  pictures  the  people  lying  upon 
beds  of  ivory,  stretching  themselves  upon  their  couches,  singing 
idle  songs  to  the  sound  of  the  viol,  drinking  wine  in  bowls  and 
anointing  themselves  with  the  chief  oils.  In  the  mountain  of 
Samaria,  they  are  secure  and  say,  "Have  we  not  taken  to  us  horns 
by  our  own  strength?"  Such  allusions  doubtless  reflect  the 
conditions  of  the  latter  half  of  Jeroboam's  reign  when  successful 
warfare  has  been  waged  and  its  demoralizing  fruits  have  begun  to 
be  manifest. 

The  place  and  immediate  circumstances  of  the  prophet's 
preaching  are  indicated  in  the  historical  section  of  chapter  7. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      109 

Then  Amaziah  the  priest  of  Bethel  sent  to  Jeroboam  king  of  Israel, 
saying,  Amos  hath  conspired  against  thee  in  the  midst  of  the  house  of 
Israel :  the  land  is  not  able  to  bear  all  his  words.  For  thus  Amos  saith, 
Jeroboam  shall  die  by  the  sword,  and  Israel  shall  surely  be  led  away  captive 
out  of  his  land.  Also  Amaziah  said  unto  Amos,  0  thou  seer,  go,  flee  thou 
away  into  the  land  of  Judah,  and  there  eat  bread,  and  prophesy  there : 
but  prophesy  not  again  any  more  at  Bethel ;  for  it  is  the  king's  sanctuary, 
and  it  is  a  royal  house.1 

Though  Amos  was  a  herdsman  of  Tekoa,  a  little  mountain 
hamlet  twelve  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  he  comes  to  the  royal 
sanctuary  of  Northern  Israel  where  Jeroboam's  priest  is  in  charge 
and  where,  no  doubt,  the  people  have  assembled  in  large  numbers 
to  observe  the  ritual  practices  of  their  religion.  Here  they  hold 
their  solemn  assemblies  and  offer  to  Jehovah  their  burnt  offerings, 
meal  offerings,  and  peace  offerings  of  their  fat  beasts ;  here  is 
heard  the  noise  of  their  songs  and  melody  of  their  viols.2 

To  the  priest  whose  bread  is  gained  by  performing  his  pro- 
fessional duties  at  the  sanctuary,  it  seems  that  the  seer  from 
Judah  is  seeking  his  living  at  the  king's  sanctuary,  where  he  has 
no  right,  save  as  he  comes  to  divine  things  favorable  to  the  king's 
rule.  Amos  understands  the  implication  in  the  command  to  go 
to  his  own  country  "and  there  eat  bread,"  and  indignantly  denies 
that  he  belongs  to  the  professional  prophets. 

Then  answered  Amos,  and  said  to  Amaziah,  I  was  no  prophet,  neither 
was  I  a  prophet's  son ;  but  I  was  a  herdsman,  and  a  dresser  of  sycomore- 
trees :  and  Jehovah  took  me  from  following  the  flock,  and  Jehovah  said 
unto  me,  Go,  prophesy  unto  my  people  Israel.  Now  therefore  hear  thou 
the  word  of  Jehovah :  Thou  sayest,  Prophesy  not  against  Israel,  and  drop 
not  thy  sword  against  the  house  of  Isaac ;  therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah : 
Thy  wife  shall  be  a  harlot  in  the  city,  and  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters 
shall  fall  by  the  sword,  and  thy  land  shall  be  divided  by  line ;  and  thou 
thyself  shalt  die  in  a  land  that  is  unclean,  and  Israel  shall  surely  be  led 
away  captive  out  of  his  land.1 

It  is  not  expressly  stated  that  all  of  Amos's  addresses  were 

delivered  at  the  Bethel  sanctuary,  but,  from  the  entirely  secondary 

character  of  all  allusions  to  Judah,  the  prophet's  own  nation,  it  is 

clear  that  Amos's  message  was  designed  for  Israel,  and  it  is  prob- 

1  w.  10-13.  2  5  21~».  3  7  "-". 


110  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

able  that  all  the  addresses  of  the  book  were  delivered  to  the  gay 
holiday  throngs  which  came  to  the  feasts  at  the  great  sanctuary 
of  ancient  renown,  and  there  practised  the  demoralizing  rites  from 
which  Jehovah's  religion  was  with  much  difficulty  kept  pure.1 

We  may  picture  the  opening  address  of  the  book  as  delivered  at 
the  sanctuary  of  Israel.  The  keen-eyed  son  of  the  wilderness  had 
grown  up  in  a  high  and  desolate  region,  whence  the  crags  broke 
downward  in  indescribable  confusion,  some  four  thousand  feet 
to  the  silent  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Scott  has  given  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  desolation  upon  which,  from  boyhood,  Amos  had 
looked  out  to  the  eastward,  in  the  description  of  the  ride  to  Engedi 
with  which  the  Talisman  opens,  and  Professor  George  Adam  Smith, 
who  has  written  upon  Biblical  history  and  geography  with  all  the 
vividness  and  much  of  the  insight  of  a  novelist,  is  at  his  best  in  his 
description  of  this  region.  "When  you  climb  .  .  .  the  hill  of 
Tekoa,  and,  looking  east,  see  those  fifteen  miles  of  chaos,  sinking 
to  a  stretch  of  the  Dead  Sea,  you  begin  to  understand  the  influence 
of  the  desert  on  Jewish  imagination  and  literature.  It  gave  the 
ancient  natives  of  Judea,  as  it  gives  the  mere  visitor  of  to-day,  the 
sense  of  living  next  door  to  doom;  the  sense  of  how  narrow  is 
the  border  between  life  and  death ;  the  awe  of  the  power  of  God 
who  can  make  contiguous  regions  so  opposite  in  character.  He 
turneth  rivers  into  a  wilderness,  and  water-springs  into  a  thirsty 
ground.  The  desert  is  always  in  face  of  the  prophets,  and  its 
howling  of  beasts  and  its  dry  sand  blow  mournfully  across  their 
pages  the  foreboding  of  judgment.  .  .  .  Amos  lived  to  the  south 
of  Jerusalem,  at  Tekoa.  No  one  can  read  his  book  without 
feeling  that  he  haunted  heights  and  lived  in  the  face  of  very  wide 
horizons.  But  from  Tekoa  you  see  the  exact  scenery  of  his  visions. 
The  slopes  on  which  Amos  herded  his  cattle  show  the  mass  of 
desert  hills  with  their  tops  below  the  spectator,  and  therefore 
displaying  every  meteoric  effect  in  a  way  they  could  not  have  done 
had  he  been  obliged  to  look  up  to  them.  The  cold  wind  that 
blows  off  them  after  sunset;  through  a  gap  the  Dead  Sea,  with 
its  heavy  mists;  beyond  the  gulf  the  range  of  Moab,  cold  and 
gray,  till  the  sun  leaps  from  behind  his  barrier,  and  in  a  moment 
the  world  of  hill-tops  below  Tekoa  is  flooded  with  light  —  that 

1 2  7-  8. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      111 

was  the  landscape  of  Amos."1  Here  the  herdsman  of  the  stunted 
breed  of  sheep  that  live  on  the  scant  herbage  of  the  region  eked  out 
his  frugal  livelihood  by  the  culture  of  the  sycomore  figs,  food  only 
of  the  poor. 

To  one  thus  bred,  the  sudden  wealth  and  luxury  of  an  era  of  na- 
tional expansion  might  in  itself  seem  wickedness,  but  the  herdsman 
was  not  a  man  simply  of  the  mountain  pastures.  The  movements 
of  nations,  past  and  present,  were  subjects  of  his  daily  meditations ; 
he  alludes  to  the  fact  that  Israel  had  come  from  Egypt  and  had 
dispossessed  the  Amorite  of  his  land,  that  the  Philistines  were 
another  immigrant  people  in  Canaan,  as  were  the  Syrians  also 
in  their  land.  For  more  than  a  generation,  the  people  beyond 
Damascus  had  ceased  their  westward  advance,  yet  Amos  saw  in 
them  the  sure  instrument  of  coming  destruction.  In  the  hour 
of  national  prosperity  and  peace,  he  alone  looked  beyond  Damascus 
to  the  distant  danger.  To  the  far  southwest  he  knows  of  Ethiopia, 
and  he  is  familiar  too  with  the  strange  phenomenon  of  the  Nile's 
annual  rise  and  fall.  Nor  is  the  herdsman  unskilled  in  the  writing 
of  his  native  tongue ;  he  is  able,  when  the  time  comes,  to  write  the 
substance  of  his  impassioned  orations  in  rugged,  generally  pure 
Hebrew,  and  to  express  his  thought  in  the  parallelism  and  accent- 
ual rhythm  of  Hebrew  poetry.2  Whether  they  were  originally 
delivered  in  metrical  form  is  perhaps  an  insoluble  question ;  that 
they  may  have  been  is  not  at  all  improbable.  Certainly,  in  one 
instance,  Amos  announced  himself  as  about  to  sing  a  dirge  (a 
Qina),  and  the  lines  that  immediately  follow  furnish  a  very  exact 
specimen  of  elegiac  metre :  Hear  ye  this  word  which  I  take  up  for 
a  lamentation  over  you,  O  house  of  Israel :  — 

1  G.  A.  Smith,  Historical  Geography,  pp.  314r-315.    Cf.  also  The  Book 
of  the  Twelve  (Expositor's  Bible),  Vol.  I,  pp.  74-76 ;  C.  F.  Kent,  Biblical 
Geography  and  History,  pp.  177  f. 

2  One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of  the  power  of  a  tradition  that 
has  a  great  name  behind  it  is  found  in  the  persistent  life  of  St.  Jerome's 
dictum  that  Amos  was  "rude  in  speech  but  not  in  knowledge."     For 
more  than  fourteen  centuries  this  was  repeated  by  commentators,  until, 
in  the  scientific  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  occurred  to  a  student 
of  Hebrew  to  examine  the  facts.     When  these  were  found  to  be  contrary 
to  the  estimate  of  Jerome,  it  was  noticed  that  the  context  of  his  statement 
suggested  that  the  ancient  scholar  was  drawing  an  inference  from  Amos's 
occupation  rather  than  an  induction  from  his  Hebrew. 


112  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Fallen,  no  more  shalt  thou  rise,  virgin  of  Israel. 
Forsaken  she  lieth  prone,  no  one  uplifting.1 

Throughout  a  large  part  of  the  opening  address  the  structure 
shows  as  close  an  approach  to  uniform  stanzas  as  Hebrew  poetry 
often  exhibits.  The  whole  is  a  doom-song  of  great  rhythmical 
power.  In  impassioned  oratory,  balanced  clauses  with  some  one 
recurring  phrase  are  frequent,  but  this  address  seems  to  show  a 
parallelism  and  symmetry  of  structure  quite  beyond  anything 
which  would  occur  in  a  prose  oration;  it  suggests  rather  the 
structure  of  Mark  Antony's  speech  in  Shakespeare's  verse  than 
any  actual  oration  in  classical  or  modern  history.  Yet  this  is  no 
imaginary  address ;  however  artistic  the  form,  the  purpose  is  in- 
tensely practical. 

A  quatrain  of  trimeters  forms  the  prelude.  Lines  1  and  2  and 
3  and  4  show  perfect  synonymous  parallelism,  while  the  second 
distich  stands  in  synthetic  relation  to  the  first. 

Yahweh  from  Zion  shall  roar, 

From  Jerusalem  utter  his  voice ; 
The  shepherd's  pastures  shall  mourn 

The  crest  of  Carmel  wither. 

Each  of  the  seven  or  eight2  stanzas  following  is  introduced  by 
"Thus  sayeth  Yahweh."3 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Damascus, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  their  threshing  with  iron,  Gilead. 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  Hazael's  house, 
1 5  1-2. 

2  The  stanza  concerning  Judah  is  probably  a  late  insertion,  imitating 
the  form  of  Amos's  lines,  but  introducing  thought  that  is  out  of  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  address  and  belongs  rather  to  a  later  age. 

3  The  first  two  lines  following  this  phrase  are  trimeters,  while  the  third 
line  is  puzzling.     In  the  first  and  third  stanzas  it  seems  to  be  a  four-beat 
line,  but  in  the  second  and  fourth,  it  is  a  five-beat  or  three,  two-beat. 
In  the  fifth  and  seventh,  it  is  a  full  distich  of  three-beat  lines,  but  in  the 
sixth  it  is  apparently  one  long  line.     The  translation  seeks  to  follow  as  far 
as  possible  the  form  of  the  Hebrew  lines  as  they  stand,  save  where,  as  in 
the  transposition  of  the  line  "And  break  Damascus's  gate-bar,"  there  is 
some  probable  emendation  of  the  text. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      113 

To  devour  Benhadad's  palaces. 
I  will  cut  off  inhabitant  from  Aven-valley 

And  holder  of  sceptre  from  Eden-house, 
And  break  Damascus's  gate-bar ; 

So  Syrians  shall  go  captive  to  Kir,1 

Sayeth  Yahweh. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Gaza, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  their  exiling  a  full  captivity, 

To  deliver  to  Edom. 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  Gaza's  wall, 

To  devour  her  palaces, 
Will  cut  off  inhabitant  from  Ashdod 

And  holder  of  sceptre  from  Ashkelon, 
And  turn  my  hand  upon  Ekron ; 

So  Philistine  remnant  shall  perish, 

Sayeth  Yahweh. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Tyre, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  then-  delivering  a  full  captivity  to  Edom. 

Brothers'  bond  they  forgot. 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  Tyre's  wall, 

To  devour  her  palaces. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Edom, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  pursuing  with  sword  his  brother, 

And  breaking  kinship. 
He  kept  forever  his  anger, 

Yea  his  wrath  he  guarded  alway. 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  Teman, 

To  devour  Bozrah's  palaces. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Bene-Ammon, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  ripping  up  women  of  Gilead, 

1  Back  to  their  original  home.     Cf .  9  7. 


114  THE  LITERATURE  OF.  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

So  to  enlarge  their  boundary. 
I  will  kindle  a  fire  on  Kabbah's  wall, 

To  devour  her  palaces, 
With  shouting  in  battle's  day, 

With  tempest  in  day  of  storm-wind. 
Their  king  shall  go  into  exile 

He  and  his  princes  together, 

Sayeth  Yahweh. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Moab, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  his  burning  the  bones  of  Edom's  king  to  lime, 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  Moab  ; 

It  shall  devour  Kerioth's  palaces, 
And  in  battle-din  Moab  shall  perish, 

With  shouting,  and  with  trumpet  sound. 
I  will  cut  off  judges  from  her  midst, 

And  all  her  princes  will  kill, 

Sayeth  Yahweh. 

Thus  sayeth  Yahweh : 

For  three  transgressions  of  Israel, 

Yea  four,  I  will  not  revoke  it ; 
For  their  selling  for  silver  the  righteous, 

And  needy  for  a  couple  of  sandals. 
Who  crush  the  head  of  the  poor, 

And  turn  aside  the  way  of  the  meek, 
A  man  and  his  father  go  to  the  sacred  harlot, 

So  they  profane  my  holy  name. 
Upon  garments  pledged  they  lie, 

Beside  every  altar. 
And  wine  of  the  fined  they  drink, 

In  the  house  of  their  God. 
Yet  I,  I  cut  off  before  them  Amorite, 

Whose  height  was  like  the  cedar's  height, 

And  strong  was  he  as  oak ; 
His  fruit  from  above,  his  root  from  below. 
Yet  I,  I  brought  you  up  from  Egypt-land, 
And  led  you  forty  years  through  wilderness, 

To  inherit  the  land  of  Amorite, 
And  raised  up  your  sons  for  prophets, 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     115 

Your  young  men  for  Nazirites, 
Is  it  not  even  so,  Bene-Israel  ? 

Oracle  of  Yahweh. 
And  ye  gave  the  Nazirites  wine, 

And  the  prophets  commanded, 

Saying,  "  Prophesy  not." 
Behold  I  will  make  a  quaking  beneath  you, 

As  quakes  your  rolling  cart, 

When  o'erloaded  with  sheaves. 
Flight  shall  fail  the  swift ; 

The  strong  shall  not  confirm  his  force ; 
The  mighty  shall  not  save  his  lif e ; 

The  bowman  shall  not  stand. 
The  swift  of  foot  shall  not  save, 

Nor  rider  on  steed,  save  his  life ; 
And  the  stout  of  heart  among  the  mighty, 

Naked  away  shall  flee,  that  day.1 

Oracle  of  Yahweh. 

As  the  menace  of  Amos's  opening  lines  fell  on  the  ears  of  the 
gay  throng,  there  may  have  been  a  startled  moment,  followed 
soon  by  approval  of  the  prophet's  oracle.  Doom  upon  Damascus, 
Philistia,  Tyre,  Edom,  Ammon,  for  the  cruel  sufferings  that  they 
had  inflicted  upon  the  fathers  of  the  listeners,  in  the  wars  that 
had  been  waged  a  generation  or  two  before,  was  an  announcement 
to  which  every  son  of  Israel  would  give  ready  ear  and  assent.  With 
rare  skill,  the  speaker  is  taking  his  hearers  the  first  step  toward 
the  recognition  of  a  principle  never  before  fully  apprehended  and 
enunciated  in  human  speech.  He  has  gained  their  ready  assent 
to  the  truth  that  Jehovah  is  sure  to  inflict  just  punishment  on 
those  who  are  selfishly  cruel  toward  Israel.  The  next  doom,  that 
upon  Moab,  advances  another  step,  in  its  assertion  that  the  God 
of  Israel  will  also  inflict  punishment  for  the  vindictive  cruelty  of 
Moab  toward  the  king  of  Edom.  Back  of  this  lies  the  great 
conception  of  Jehovah  as  just  arbiter  among  the  nations. 

The  hearers  do  not  comprehend  all  this,  but  the  swing  of  the 
prophet's  song  and  their  hatred  of  the  ancient  rival  nation  carry 

1  The  beat  of  the  last  line  suggests,  perhaps,  the  sound  of  the  flight. 
Arom  yanus  bayyom  hahu.  Cf.  the  onomatopoetic  line  describing  the 
retreat  in  the  Deborah  Song,  p.  23. 


116  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

them  on,  no  doubt,  to  ready  acquiescence  in  the  doom  of  Moab. 
This  yielded,  the  prophet  has  secured  recognition  of  a  great  prin- 
ciple, indefinitely  above  and  beyond  anything  met  in  earlier 
writings.  This  is  nothing  less  than  the  audacious  reach  of  faith 
to  a  God  of  nations  whose  dealings  with  the  peoples  are  deter- 
mined by  their  conduct  toward  one  another. 

This  point  reached,  he  quickly  applies  his  principle  to  Israel, 
where  injustice  is  rampant  in  the  economic,  political,  and  religious 
life  of  the  nation.  The  righteous  are  sold  for  silver  and  the  very 
money  used  for  the  purchase  of  the  wine  needed  in  the  sacrificial 
feasts  is  gained  from  unjust  fines.  While  the  sensual  character 
of  the  Bethel  worship  is  prominent  in  the  prophet's  thought,  the 
selfish  cruelty  of  the  ways  by  which  the  means  for  this  worship 
are  obtained  is  even  more  emphasized,  and  the  whole  is  counted 
ingratitude  toward  the  God  who  has  blessed  Israel.  Amos's 
opening  address  is  much  more  notable  as  an  example  of  skilful 
oratory  than  as  a  poetic  utterance. 

The  succeeding  addresses  expand  and  defend  the  crushing  in- 
dictment and  sentence  of  the  first.  Upon  the  mountains  of 
Samaria  are  oppressions ;  they  store  violence  and  robbery  in  their 
palaces ;  the  women  of  wealth  oppress  the  poor,  calling  upon  their 
lords  to  supply  their  drinking  feasts ;  the  one  who  speaks  upright 
reproof  is  abhorred;  the  wealthy  litigant  bribes,  and  the  poor 
man  cannot  get  justice  before  the  elders  who  hold  court  at  the 
city  gate.  In  the  similar  section  of  chapter  8,  the  merchants  are 
represented  as  formally  observing  the  Sabbath  with  cessation  of 
their  business,  while  eagerly  longing  to  be  back  at  their  trading 
with  false  measures  and  weights,  and  selling  the  refuse  of  the 
wheat.  With  such  counts  the  prophet  expands  his  earlier  indict- 
ment of  selfish,  cruel  conduct  in  Israel  at  this  era  of  sudden  wealth. 

Nothing  of  all  this  seems  to  the  people  inconsistent  with  reli- 
gious faith  and  practice.  Jehovah,  they  feel,  has  greatly  blessed 
them  and  they  are  looking  for  more  marked  manifestations  of  his 
favor.1  They  maintain  all  their  religious  rites  with  abundant 
offerings;  their  solemn  assemblies  are  held  and  their  songs  rise 
to  their  God.2  It  is  evident  that  the  mass  of  the  people  of  Israel 
have  not  apprehended  the  thought  that  the  religion  of  Jehovah 

1  5  18-20^  2  5  21-23^ 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      117 

has  any  concern  with  business.  We  have  seen  the  conception 
that  Jehovah's  demands  are  ethical,  beginning  to  take  shape  at 
an  earlier  date ;  but  the  story  of  Naboth's  vineyard  was  unknown 
to  the  people  or  its  lesson  uncomprehended.  The  mass  of  Israel 
was,  where  the  followers  of  nearly  all  the  world's  religions  have 
still  remained,  hi  the  stage  of  development  which  regards  religion 
as  a  matter  merely  of  ceremonial  usage  and  tune-honored 
institutions. 

Turning  our  thought  from  the  indictment  to  the  sentence  with 
which  the  first  address  closes,  we  note  that  this  too  is  made  more 
definite  in  the  succeeding  addresses.  No  instrument  of  punish- 
ment was  mentioned  at  first,  but  the  second  address  threatens 
that  an  adversary  shall  plunder  the  land  to  repletion.  The  fourth 
address  promises  an  adversary  who  shall  afflict  the  land  from 
end  to  end  and  plainly  indicates  Assyria  in  its  threat  of  captivity 
beyond  Damascus. 

The  description  of  visions  which  occupies  the  major  part  of 
chapters  7-9  adds  very  little,  if  any,  new  thought  to  the  addresses 
considered.  The  section  does,  however,  serve  to  illustrate  the 
varied  modes  adopted  by  the  prophet  in  his  effort  to  make  his 
message  reach  and  rouse  the  hearers.  For  the  Oriental,  ever 
fond  of  figurative  speech,  rejoicing  in  "dark  sayings,"  these 
visions  had  a  charm  and  power  which  it  may  not  be  possible  for 
us  to  realize. 

In  seeking  to  apprehend  Amos's  thought,  we  are  led  to  formu- 
late it  into  general  statements,  but  we  must  remember  that  the 
Hebrew  mind  did  not  group  in  that  way.  Amos  presented  his 
thought  in  concrete,  vivid  pictures,  not  in  abstract  statements. 
We  have  already  noted,  in  our  examination  of  Israel's  early 
narratives,  that  a  picture  or  story  conveying  a  lesson  was  not 
ridden  by  any  statement  of  its  moral.  In  the  stirring  oratory  of 
the  social  reformer  we  see  the  same  poetic  freedom. 

In  addition  to  the  definite  pictures  which  Amos  draws  of  exist- 
ing conditions  and  his  symbolic  visions,  his  words  are  full  of 
illustrations  from  nature,  characteristic  reflections  of  his  rural 
life.  We  may  enumerate  of  these,  in  barren  summary :  the  lion's 
defiant  roar  over  his  prey;  the  bird  caught  in  the  snare;  the 
heedless  cattle  that  trample  underfoot ;  the  drought  coming  when 


118  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

the  latter  rains  should  assure  the  harvest;  blasting  and  mildew; 
the  palmer  worm  devouring  gardens,  vineyards,  fig  and  olive 
trees;  the  mountains  and  wind  in  their  majesty  and  power;  the 
Pleiades  and  Orion  overhead.  Only  one  who  had  lived  close  to 
nature  and  simple,  rural  life  could  think  hi  the  pictures  so  strikingly 
characteristic  of  Amos. 

We  have  no  literary  categories  under  which  to  classify  the 
prophetic  writings.  Professor  Moulton's  term  "prophetic 
rhapsody"  is  as  happy  as  any,  if  we  must  give  a  name  derived 
from  the  Greek,  whence  we  get  olir  literary  forms  and  terms.  He 
says,  "So  far  as  form  is  concerned  prophecy  is  not  distinctive,  but 
comprehensive ;  all  types  of  literature  are  attracted  towards  it, 
and  the  various  literary  forms  are  fused  together  into  a  new  form 
in  the  prophetic  rhapsody." l  He  is  evidently  using  the  term 
"rhapsody,"  not  in  its  original  Greek  meaning,  but  in  its  modern 
sense  as  applied  to  poetry  and  music,  indicating  "something 
especially  exalted  and  free  from  limitations  of  form."2  The 
different  parts  of  a  prophetic  book  may  often  be  subjected  to 
literary  classification,  but  the  change  from  one  literary  form  to 
another  is  bewilderingly  swift,  and  for  some  forms  our  technical 
terminology  fails.  Even  Professor  Moulton,  who  tends  to 
assimilate  distinctive  Semitic  forms  with  European,  styles  the 
third  section  of  Amos  simply  "vision  prophecy."  For  this  the 
European  has  no  technical  term. 

Such  facts  as  the  foregoing  make  it  very  difficult  to  discuss  the 
prophetic  writings  as  a  part  of  literature.  Only  one  who  has  read 
them  attentively  and  sympathetically  and  whose  mind  is  not  too 
rigidly  fixed  in  occidental  channels  can  apprehend  the  beauty  and 
power  of  this  wonderful  instrument  for  the  expression  of  "the 
essentials  of  life  in  its  greatness."  The  other  great,  flexible, 
comprehensive  literary  form,  with  which  prophecy  has  been  so 
appreciatively  grouped  by  Professor  Woodberry,  is  likewise  a 
complex,  composite  form.  The  Greek  drama  grew  in  the  first 
instance  out  of  a  combination  of  the  collected  songs  of  the 
rhapsodists3  and  the  Bacchic  chorus,  and,  later,  it  gradually 

1  R.  G.  Moulton,  The  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible,  p.  112. 

2  Idem,  p.  369. 

8  Rhapsody  —  from  rhapto  =  stitch  together ;  ode"  =>  song. 


THE   BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      119 

developed  its  elastic  dialogue  element.  We  understand,  more 
or  less  clearly,  this  composite  form,  when  the  term  "drama"  is 
used,  and  so  we  must  come  to  understand  a  less  organized,  but 
not  less  distinct,  composite  literary  form,  when  the  term 
"prophecy"  is  used. 

Even  when  it  has  developed  to  its  greatest  perfection,  the  form 
of  prophetic  literature  has  the  marks  of  its  ancestry.  Ecstasy 
was  characteristic  of  the  early  prophets  of  Israel ;  we  have  seen  it 
hi  the  Balaam  oracles  and  in  the  experience  of  Saul  among  the 
prophets.  Music,  with  which  the  bands  of  travelling  prophets 
accompanied  their  prophesying  no  doubt  had  its  part  to  play 
hi  inducing  ecstasy.  Intense  emotion  continued  to  characterize 
the  prophets  of  Israel  long  after  they  had  left  far  behind  the 
primitive  practices,  for  the  speaker  felt  that  he  was  uttering  words 
whose  source  was  outside  his  own  mind  and  will.  In  the  writing 
prophets,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  tell  whether  the  preacher  is 
speaking  hi  his  own  person  or  as  the  voice  of  God,  or  again,  as 
the  mouthpiece  of  his  people.  Narrative,  direct  address,  solilo- 
quy, and  dialogue  are  puzzlingly  intermingled.  Yet,  however 
rhapsodical  the  prophecy,  all  the  great  prophets  of  the  eighth 
and  seventh  centuries  had,  like  Amos,  a  keen  sense  of  present 
fact.  This  combination  of  the  grasp  of  concrete  realities  with 
great  emotion  Professor  Gardiner  emphasizes  as  the  mark  of 
the  climax  in  the  development  of  any  school  of  literature.1 

In  Hosea  the  union  of  emotion  and  reality  is  perhaps  even  more 
notable  than  in  Amos.  This  book  opens  with  a  narrative  of 
Hosea's  family  experience  that  from  the  start  is  seen  to  be  a 
parable  of  Jehovah's  experience  with  Israel.  The  two  elements, 
the  personal  history  of  Hosea  and  the  application  to  Israel, 
are  kept  reasonably  distinct  throughout  the  first  paragraph. 

When  Jehovah  spake  at  the  first  by  Hosea,  Jehovah  said  unto  Hosea, 
Go,  take  unto  thee  a  wife  of  whoredom  and  children  of  whoredom;  for 
the  land  doth  commit  great  whoredom,  departing  from  Jehovah.  So 
he  went  and  took  Gomer  the  daughter  of  Diblaim;  and  she  conceived, 
and  bare  him  a  son.  And  Jehovah  said  unto  him,  Call  his  name  Jezreel ; 
for  yet  a  little  while,  and  I  will  avenge  the  blood  of  Jezreel  upon  the 

1  Gardiner,  The  Bible  as  English  Literature,  p.  216. 


120  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

house  of  Jehu,  and  will  cause  the  kingdom  of  the  house  of  Israel  to  cease. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  that  day,  that  I  will  break  the  bow  of  Israel 
in  the  valley  of  Jezreel.  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bare  a  daughter. 
And  Jehovah  said  unto  him,  Call  her  name  Lo-ruhamah ;  for  I  will  no  more 
have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Israel,  that  I  should  in  any  wise  pardon  them. 
But  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Judah,  and  will  save  them  by 
Jehovah  their  God,  and  will  not  save  them  by  bow,  nor  by  sword,  nor  by 
battle,  by  horses,  nor  by  horsemen.  Now  when  she  had  weaned  Lo-ru- 
hamah, she  conceived,  and  bare  a  son.  And  Jehovah  said,  Call  his  name 
Lo-ammi ;  for  ye  are  not  my  people,  and  I  will  not  be  your  God.1 

The  second  paragraph,  with  its  sudden  recollection  of  ancient 
promise  and  glorious  vision  of  hope,  cuts  free  from  Hosea's  personal 
affairs  and  deals  wholly  with  the  contrasted  future. 

Yet  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea, 
which  cannot  be  measured  nor  numbered ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that, 
in  the  place  where  it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  it  shall 
be  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  the  sons  of  the  living  God.  And  the  children 
of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  gathered  together,  and  they 
shall  appoint  themselves  one  head,  and  shall  go  up  from  the  land;  for 
great  shall  be  the  day  of  Jezreel.  Say  ye  unto  your  brethren,  Ammi; 
and  to  your  sisters,  Ruhamah.2 

In  the  second  chapter,  the  domestic  and  the  national  tragedy 
are  so  fused  in  the  crucible  of  the  prophet's  heart,  that  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other. 

Contend  with  your  mother,  contend ;  for  she  is  not  my  wife,  neither 
am  I  her  husband ;  and  let  her  put  away  her  whoredoms  from  her  face, 
and  her  adulteries  from  between  her  breasts ;  lest  I  strip  her  naked,  and 
set  her  as  in  the  day  that  she  was  born,  and  make  her  as  a  wilderness,  and 
set  her  like  a  dry  land,  and  slay  her  with  thirst.  Yea,  upon  her  children 
will  I  have  no  mercy;  for  they  are  children  of  whoredom;  for  their 
mother  hath  played  the  harlot;  she  that  conceived  them  hath  done 
shamefully;  for  she  said,  I  will  go  after  my  lovers,  that  give  me  my 
bread  and  my  water,  my  wool  and  my  flax,  mine  oil  and  my  drink.  There- 
fore, behold,  I  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with  thorns,  and  I  will  build  a  wall 
against  her,  that  she  shall  not  find  her  paths.  And  she  shall  follow  after 
her  lovers,  but  she  shall  not  overtake  them ;  and  she  shall  seek  them,  but 
shall  not  find  them :  then  shall  she  say,  I  will  go  and  return  to  my  first 
husband ;  for  then  was  it  better  with  me  than  now. 

1  Hosea  1  **.  2 1  1Q-2  l. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      121 

For  she  did  not  know  that  I  gave  her  the  grain,  and  the  new  wine,  and 
the  oil,  and  multiplied  unto  her  silver  and  gold,  which  they  used  for  Baal. 
Therefore  will  I  take  back  my  grain  in  the  time  thereof,  and  my  new  wine 
in  the  season  thereof,  and  will  pluck  away  my  wool  and  my  flax  which 
should  have  covered  her  nakedness.  And  now  will  I  uncover  her  lewd- 
ness  in  the  sight  of  her  lovers,  and  none  shall  deliver  her  out  of  my  hand.  I 
will  also  cause  all  her  mirth  to  cease,  her  feasts,  her  new  moons,  and  her 
sabbaths,  and  all  her  solemn  assemblies.  And  I  will  lay  waste  her  vines 
and  her  fig-trees,  whereof  she  hath  said,  These  are  my  hire  that  my  lovers 
have  given  me ;  and  I  will  make  them  a  forest,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field 
shall  eat  them.  And  I  will  visit  upon  her  the  days  of  the  Baalim,  unto 
which  she  burned  incense,  when  she  decked  herself  with  her  ear-rings  and 
her  jewels,  and  went  after  her  lovers,  and  forgat  me,  saith  Jehovah.1 

The  third  chapter  is  spoken  in  calmer  vein,  and,  again,  the 
national  conditions  are  clearly  distinguished  from  the  personal 
experiences  of  Hosea  which  illustrate  them. 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  Go  again,  love  a  woman  beloved  of  her 
friend,  and  an  adulteress,  even  as  Jehovah  loveth  the  children  of  Israel, 
though  they  turn  unto  other  gods,  and  love  cakes  of  raisins.  So  I  bought 
her  to  me  for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  a  homer  of  barley,  and  a  half- 
homer  of  barley;  and  I  said  unto  her,  Thou  shalt  abide  for  me  many 
days;  thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot,  and  thou  shalt  not  be  any  man's 
wife;  so  will  I  also  be  toward  thee.  For  the  children  of  Israel  shall 
abide  many  days  without  king,  and  without  prince,  and  without  sacrifice, 
and  without  pillar,  and  without  ephod  or  teraphim:  afterward  shall  the 
children  of  Israel  return,  and  seek  Jehovah  -their  God,  and  David  their 
king,  and  shall  come  with  fear  unto  Jehovah  and  to  his  goodness  in  the 
latter  days. 

Back  of  Hosea's  message  of  judgment  and  hope  lie  two  groups 
of  facts:  (1)  Hosea's  wife  has  been  faithless  to  him,  a  wanton 
pursuing  her  lovers ;  his  sense  of  wrong  is  bitter,  but  he  loves  her 
with  an  unquenchable  love.  In  imagination,  he  sees  himself 
luring  her  back  to  such  promises  as  she  gave  him  in  her  youth ; 
in  reality,  he  must  buy  her  back,  for,  deserted  of  her  lovers,  she 
has  become  a  slave,  and  her  husband's  love  she  does  not  yet 
comprehend.  She  must  experience  purification  through  many 
days  of  enforced  abiding  by  him  as  no  man's  wife,  while  he  volun- 

i  2 «-". 


122  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

tarily  remains  without  wife.  (2)  Israel  has  been  faithless  to 
Jehovah  and  has  sought  other  gods.  Though  he  has  provided 
the  nation  with  food  and  money,  it  has  not  known  that  these  came 
from  him,  and  has  lavished  them  on  Baal,  the  Canaanite  god  of 
fertility,  and  has  thought  thus  to  gain  prosperity.  The  prophet 
sees  that  only  after  Israel  has  remained  long  without  government 
or  means  of  worship  will  she  come  to  seek  Jehovah.  These  may 
be  disentangled  as  the  two  groups  of  stern,  terrible  realities  that 
are  fused  in  Hosea's  vivid  imagination  by  the  intense  fire  of  his 
emotion.  In  these  opening  chapters  we  have  the  gist  of  Hosea's 
book. 

Interpreting  Hosea's  words  with  precise  literalness,  it  would 
seem  that  he  received  a  divine  command  deliberately  to  marry 
a  woman  already  a  wanton,  and  so  known  to  him.  Prophets 
often  performed  some  strange  act  in  order  to  impress  a  lesson 
needed  by  the  nation,  but  the  idea  that  the  God  of  Israel,  the  God 
who  demanded  social  purity  such  as  was  undreamed  of  in  other 
religions,  could  have  commanded  such  conduct  has  so  greatly 
shocked  moral  sense  that  the  story  has  often  been  interpreted 
as  a  mere  parable.  Such  it  may  be,  but  an  historical  study  of 
Hebrew  prophecy  seems  to  establish  two  facts  which  suggest 
another  interpretation.  First,  in  describing  early  convictions 
leading  them  to  their  life  work,  the  prophets  read  their  early 
thoughts  in  the  light  of  subsequent  experience  and  speak  of  what 
in  reality  has  come  to  them  in  slow  realization  through  the  ex- 
perience of  the  years,  as  having  been  revealed  to  them,  told  them, 
or  commanded  them,  by  God  himself.  This  is  in  perfect  accord 
with  the  laws  of  mental  life  as  we  know  them  in  others  than 
prophets.  Second,  the  prophets  acquired  their  greatest  truths  in 
connection  with  their  own  experience  of  life,  interpreted  in  the  light 
of  their  fundamental  convictions. 

Viewing  Hosea's  opening  chapters  from  the  point  of  view  of 
these  general  facts,  Biblical  students  have  come  to  believe  that 
this  man,  who  loved  his  wife  with  a  certain  chivalry  hardly  ever 
suggested  in  ancient  literature,  married  one  whom  he  supposed 
to  be  pure.  He  gave  to  his  first  child  the  name  of  Jezreel  to 
emphasize  his  conviction  that  Jehu's  bloody  rebellion  demanded 
Jehovah's  judgment.  As  time  went  on  and  other  children  were 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      123 

born,  he  came  to  know  that  his  wife  was  indifferent  to  his  love, 
and  sought  other  lovers,  blind  to  his  cherishing  care  for  her ;  the 
names  of  the  later  children,  certainly  of  the  third  child,  contained 
suggestion  not  only  of  Israel's  doom,  but  of  the  wife's  faithlessness 
as  well.  Through  his  own  bitter  anguish,  he  grew  to  understand 
something  of  the  sorrow  in  Jehovah's  heart  for  a  people  blind  to 
his  provident  care,  and  turned  to  other  gods.  Where  there  was 
such  complete  failure  to  comprehend  love,  he  saw  that,  though 
one  might  dream  of  bringing  back  the  old  days  of  pure  love's 
covenant  by  pleading,  in  reality,  it  was  impossible.  But  he 
learned  more  than  this  through  his  own  great  love,  a  love  that 
asked  for  itself  only  opportunity  to  reclaim  from  sin  to  purity; 
he  came  to  understand  the  unalterable  love  of  Jehovah  for  Israel. 
When,  at  length,  he  wrote  down  the*  story  of  his  life  with  the 
message  that  had  grown  out  of  it,  he  looked  back  over  the  years 
and  felt  that  through  these  deep  waters  God  had  called  him  to 
pass,  so  he  might  know  and  teach.  Then,  with  the  vivid  speech 
of  a  Hebrew  prophet  who  never  cared  to  state  all  the  intermediate 
steps,  he  put  the  whole  hi  a  word  —  God  had  commanded  him 
to  take  a  wife  of  whoredom  and  children  of  whoredom. 

Chapters  4-14  belong  to  a  later  era  than  1-3.  In  the  double 
dating  of  Hosea's  book  (1 l),  the  years  given  by  the  kings  of 
Judah  (Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah)  and  those  given  by 
the  king  of  Israel  (Jeroboam)  are  not  wholly  synchronous;  the 
reigns  of  the  Judean  kings  carry  us  quite  beyond  Jeroboam's 
death  hi  740.  The  dating  by  Judean  kings  was  probably  added 
by  a  later  hand,  after  Hosea  was  dead  and  Israel  was  obliterated 
as  a  nation,  for  Hosea  was  a  prophet  of  Israel  and  not  of  Judah. 
This  later  editor  possibly  knew  that  Hosea's  ministry  extended 
beyond  the  days  of  Jeroboam,  although  none  of  his  extant 
prophecies  seem  as  late  as  the  tune  of  Hezekiah. 

Anarchy  and  confusion  followed  the  long  reign  of  Jeroboam, 
and  this  is  often  reflected  in  chapters  4-14 ;  Jeroboam's  son  had 
reigned  only  six  months  when  the  assassin's  hand  struck  him  down, 
and  the  murderer  was  in  turn  killed  after  a  month's  reign.  The 
new  ruler  who  then  came  to  the  throne  was  forced  to  pay  tribute 
to  Assyria,  but  he  seems  to  have  died  a  natural  death  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son;  this  son  was  killed  by  the  head  of  the 


124  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

army,  who  established  himself  as  king.  In  his  days,  Assyria  took 
the  east-Jordan  and  Galilean  districts  from  Israel  and  left  one 
Hoshea  as  vassal  king  over  the  sadly  diminished  territory  of 
Northern  Israel.  All  these  changes  occurred  within  about  six 
years.  Twelve  years  more,  and  rebellion  against  Assyria  brought 
the  destruction  of  Samaria,  the  deportation  of  many  thousands  of 
its  inhabitants,  and  the  end  of  the  history  of  the  northern  kingdom. 

The  words  of  Hosea  (7 7),  "All  their  kings  are  fallen,"  referring 
evidently  to  Israel,  or  again,  "As  for  Samaria,  her  king  is  cut  off 
as  foam  upon  the  water"  (10  7),  would  be  appropriate  at  almost 
any  time  after  Jeroboam's  death,  but  hardly  when  he  had  been 
reigning  prosperously  for  a  generation  and  when  his  fathers  had 
enjoyed  prosperous  reigns  for  years  previously.  Nor  would  the 
picture  of  Israel  as  swallowed  up  among  the  nations,  as  gone  up 
to  Assyria  for  help  (8  *» 9)  be  appropriate  before  the  time  of 
Menahem's  tribute.1  Indeed,  in  Hosea,  rapid  change  of  kings, 
a  weak  and  vacillating  policy,  with  almost  complete  anarchy 
dominant  at  home,  are  constantly  reflected.  Following  the  events 
of  the  year  735  came  the  devastating  and  cutting  off  from  Israel 
of  Gilead,  yet  Hosea  speaks  of  this  district  as  though  it  still 
belonged  to  Israel,  and  makes  no  reference  to  any  judgment  fallen 
upon  it.  The  words  of  chapters  4-14  are  probably,  therefore, 
to  be  assigned  to  the  years  740  to  735  B.C.,  in  which  occurred  the 
assassinations  of  kings  Zechariah,  Shallum,  and  Pekahiah,  and  the 
tribute  of  Menahem  to  Assyria. 

It  is  sometimes  maintained  that  Hosea  could  not  have  put  his 
own  prophecies  in  their  present  form,  because  of  their  lack  of 
orderly  arrangement.  The  book  certainly  does  suggest  frag- 
mentary literary  remains  gathered  after  the  prophet's  death, 
somewhat  as  the  Koran  was  collected,  but  if  Hosea  himself  put  the 
material  together,  there  is  no  reason  for  wonder  that  it  has  no  more 
orderly  form.  The  Semitic,  the  Oriental  mind,  in  general,  does 
not  work  according  to  Occidental  ideas  of  law  and  order;  and 
Hosea's  mind,  in  particular,  never  would  have  thought  of  giving 
a  mass  of  material  even  such  order  as  is  seen  in  the  grouping  of 
the  various  elements  of  Amos.  Amos's  mind  worked  much  more 
after  the  fashion  of  ours  than  did  those  of  most  of  the  great 

i 2  Kings  15  19-20. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      125 

prophets  of  Israel.  Hosea's  thought  and  speech  are  never  pro- 
gressive, but  are  full  of  swift  alternations  of  despair  and  hope, 
of  denunciation  and  pity. 

Hosea's  intense,  imaginative  identifying  of  himself,  now  with 
God  and  now  with  the  people,  gives  dramatic  power  to  his  words, 
but  he  does  not  work  out  dramatic  dialogue  in  any  such  orderly 
way  as  some  of  the  later  prophets.  In  the  early  verses  of  chapter  4 
it  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  prophet  is  speaking  in  his 
own  person  or  that  of  God.  From  verse  6  on,  it  seems  to  be 
Jehovah  who  speaks ;  this  continues  through  chapter  5,  though 
in  each  chapter,  God  is  often  named  in  the  third  person.  Chapter 
6  opens  with  the  voice  of  the  people ;  at  verse  4,  Jehovah  speaks, 
addressing  the  people  in  the  second  person,  which  is  quickly 
changed  to  the  third.  This  continues  through  7  4,  when  suddenly 
the  prophet  speaks  in  his  own  person ;  but  a  little  later  it  seems 
to  be  Jehovah  speaking,  and  so  on. 

Come,  and  let  us  return  unto  Jehovah;  for  he  hath  torn,  and  he  will 
heal  us;  he  hath  smitten,  and  lie  will  bind  us  up.  After  two  days  will 
he  revive  us :  on  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  live  before 
him.  And  let  us  know,  let  us  follow  on  to  know  Jehovah:  his  going 
forth  is  sure  as  the  morning ;  and  he  will  come  unto  us  as  the  rain,  as  the 
latter  rain  that  watereth  the  earth. 

0  Ephraim,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ?  0  Judah,  what  shall  I  do  unto 
thee  ?  for  your  goodness  is  as  a  morning  cloud,  and  as  the  dew  that  goeth 
early  away.  Therefore  have  I  hewed  them  by  the  prophets;  I  have 
slain  them  by  the  words  of  my  mouth :  and  thy  judgments  are  as  the  light 
that  goeth  forth.  For  I  desire  goodness,  and  not  sacrifice;  and  the 
knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt-offerings.  But  they  like  Adam 
have  transgressed  the  covenant;  there  have  they  dealt  treacherously 
against  me.  Gilead  is  a  city  of  them  that  work  iniquity;  it  is  stained 
with  blood.  And  as  troops  of  robbers  wait  for  a  man,  so  the  company  of 
priests  murder  in  the  way  toward  Shechem ;  yea,  they  have  committed 
lewdness.  In  the  house  of  Israel  I  have  seen  a  horrible  thing:  there 
whoredom  is  found  in  Ephraim,  Israel  is  defiled.  Also,  0  Judah,  there  is 
a  harvest  appointed  for  thee,  when  I  bring  back  the  captivity  of  my  people. 

When  I  would  heal  Israel,  then  is  the  inquity  of  Ephraim  uncovered, 
and  the  wickedness  of  Samaria ;  for  they  commit  falsehood,  and  the  thief 
entereth  in,  and  the  troop  of  robbers  ravageth  without.  And  they 
consider  not  in  their  hearts  that  I  remember  all  their  wickedness :  now 


126  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

have  their  own  doings  beset  them  about ;  they  are  before  my  face.  They 
make  the  king  glad  with  their  wickedness,  and  the  princes  with  their 
lies.  They  are  all  adulterers ;  they  are  as  an  oven  heated  by  the  baker ; 
he  ceaseth  to  stir  the  fire  from  the  kneading  of  the  dough,  until  it  be 
leavened. 

On  the  day  of  our  king  the  princes  made  themselves  sick  with  the  heat 
of  wine;  he  stretched  out  his  hand  with  scoffers.  For  they  have  made 
ready  their  heart  like  an  oven,  while  they  lie  in  wait :  their  baker  sleepeth 
all  the  night ;  in  the  morning  it  burneth  as  a  flaming  fire.  They  are  all 
hot  as  an  oven,  and  devour  their  judges;  all  their  kings  are  fallen :  there 
is  none  among  them  that  calleth  unto  me.1 

Elsewhere  the  dramatic  form  of  speech  is  changed,  and  the 
words  of  Ephraim  are  narrated  by  Jehovah  (12  8),  but  a  moment 
later,  the  prophet  in  his  own  person  speaks  of  God.  One  must 
needs  be  alert  to  follow  these  dramatic  changes ;  once  in  the  spirit 
of  it  the  utterance  has  great  power.  The  form,  not  unfamiliar 
in  the  impassioned  oratory  of  other  peoples  and  ages,  is  peculiarly 
prominent  in  Israel's  prophets. 

We  can  hardly  imagine  Hosea  working  out  an  address  or  poem 
like  that  of  Amos  1  and  2,  with  its  regular  structure  and  its  ad- 
vancing stages  of  thought,  or  even  that  of  chapter  3 ;  nor  would 
he  give  a  series  of  formal  visions  like  those  of  Amos  7  ff.  —  "Thus 
the  Lord  Jehovah  showeth  me  and  behold."  Indeed,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  better  illustrations  of  the  saying  "the  style  is  the 
man"  than  Amos  and  Hosea  afford.  Amos  used  effective  illus- 
trations which  seem  spontaneous,  but  Hosea  "thinks  in  pictures." 
This  characteristic  has  already  been  indicated  in  the  discussion 
of  the  first  three  chapters  of  the  prophecy.  .  Forceful  examples 
from  the  later  chapters  are  those  of  7  8~12,  10  l,  12  L  7 :  — 

Ephraim,  he  mixeth  himself  among  the  peoples;  Ephraim  is  a  cake 
not  turned.  Strangers  have  devoured  his  strength,  etc. 

Israel  is  a  luxuriant  vine,  that  putteth  forth  his  fruit:  according  to 
the  abundance  of  his  fruit  he  hath  multiplied  his  altars ;  according  to  the 
goodness  of  their  land  they  have  made  goodly  pillars. 

Ephraim  feedeth  on  wind,  and  followeth  after  the  east  wind :  he  con- 
tinually multiplieth  lies  and  desolation ;  and  they  make  a  covenant  with 
Assyria,  and  oil  is  carried  into  Egypt. 

1 6  !-7  7. 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      127 

He  is  a  trafficker,  the  balances  of  deceit  are  in  his  hand :  he  loveth  to 
oppress. 

Unusually  beautiful  examples  are  found  in  the  early  part  of 
chapter  6,  printed  above,  and  in  the  description  of  Israel  and  the 

Father :  — 

When  Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out  of 
Egypt.  The  more  the  prophets  called  them,  the  more  they  went  from 
them:  they  sacrificed  unto  the  Baalim,  and  burned  incense  to  graven 
images.  Yet  I  taught  Ephraim  to  walk ;  I  took  them  on  my  arms ;  but 
they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them.  I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man, 
with  bands  of  love ;  and  I  was  to  them  as  they  that  Lift  up  the  yoke  on 
their  jaws ;  and  I  laid  food  before  them. 

How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  how  shall  I  cast  thee  off,  Israel  ? 
how  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah  ?  how  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboiim  ?  my 
heart  is  turned '  within  me,  my  compassions  are  kindled  together.  I 
will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine  anger,  I  will  not  return  to  destroy 
Ephraim :  for  I  am  God,  and  not  man ;  the  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of 
thee;  and  I  will  not  come  in  wrath.  They  shall  walk  after  Jehovah, 
who  will  roar  like  a  lion;  for  he  will  roar,  and  the  children  shall  come 
trembling  from  the  west.  They  shall  come  trembling  as  a  bird  out  of 
Egypt,  and  as  a  dove  out  of  the  land  of  Assyria ;  and  I  will  make  them  to 
dwell  in  their  houses,  saith  Jehovah.1 

The  character  of  the  pictures  or  illustrations  is  also  significant. 
Amos's  are  more  often  from  the  wilder  aspects  of  nature  and 
Hosea's  from  the  calm  and  beautiful ;  while  the  spirit  and  ideas 
of  Hosea  are  quite  as  much  in  contrast  to  Amos  as  the  mode  of 
thought  or  form  of  expression. 

The  dominant  idea  of  Amos  is  justice,  that  of  Hosea  love  and 
mercy.  Like  most  bald  statements,  this  one  may  convey  an  abso- 
lutely false  impression.  Justice  demands  judgment,  so  does  love ; 
or  rather,  justice  demands  judgment ;  love  sees  that  it  is  inherent, 
and  so  inevitable.  Amos  could  not  know  and  give  Hosea's  message 
because  he  had  not  Hosea's  nature  and  Hosea's  experience.  Only 
one  who  had  loved  and  been  wronged  and  loved  still  could  be  the 
first  to  know  unquenchable  love  in  God.  Only  one  who  had 
loved  thus  and  had  loved  one  who  was  incapable  of  comprehend- 
ing and  returning  the  love  in  kind  could  be  the  first  to  realize 


128  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

that  judgment  and  expiation  must  precede  the  possibility  of  reunion 
and  blessing.  Paying  the  price  to  her  owner  and  taking  her  back 
to  his  home  and  tender  care  could  not  give  Hosea  again  his  wife. 
History  affords  a  partial  parallel  to  the  marriage  story  of  Hosea 
in  that  of  Andrea  del  Sarto  whose  wife's  beautiful  face  was  so 
graven  on  his  heart  that  every  woman's  face  he  put  upon  the 
canvas  had  her  features.  Browning  pictures  the  artist  pleading 
with  her  one  evening  when  he  restrained  her  with  him  for  a  little 
time  till  she  fled  away  to  gayer  company :  — 

Had  you,  with  these  the  same,  but  brought  a  mind 

Some  women  do  so.    Had  the  mouth  there  urged 

God  and  the  glory  !  never  care  for  gain. 

If  you  would  sit  thus  by  me  every  night 

I  should  work  better,  do  you  comprehend  ? 

I  mean  that  I  should  earn  more,  give  you  more. 

The  wife  of  Andrea  del  Sarto  could  not  understand,  he  knew, 
"better  work,"  save  as  it  meant  "more  money,"  as  Hosea's  wife 
could  not  comprehend  the  constraining  love  which  would  speak  to 
her  heart. 

So,  Hosea  saw  that  Israel  was  destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge  ; 
the  spirit  of  whoredoms  is  in  the  midst  of  them  and  they  have  not 
known  the  Lord.1  In  their  ignorance  they  think  to  please  him 
with  sacrifices  and  burnt  offerings,  but  those  were  not  what  he 
wanted ;  he  longed  rather  for  the  spirit  of  kindness  in  their  hearts 
and  knowledge  of  himself.2  Israel  was  like  a  silly  dove  without 
understanding.3 

In  chapter  11,  we  have  seen  the  figure  changed  from  that  of 
husband  and  faithless  wife  to  that  of  father  and  indifferent  child : 
I  taught  Ephraim  also  to  walk ;  I  took  them  on  my  arms ;  but 
they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them.  Brutish  insensibility  makes 
the  true  relation  between  Israel  and  God  impossible.  Hosea  sees, 
even  more  deeply  than  Amos,  the  inevitable  consequences  of 
Israel's  sin,  because  he  sees  that  those  consequences  are  not 
inflicted,  but  are  inherent  in  the  nature  of  personality. 

Never  before  Amos,  so  far  as  we  can  know  to-day,  had  any  one 
clearly  grasped  and  presented  the  theory  of  history  that  he  held 

1 4  6,  5  4.  2  6  6.  *  7  ". 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      129 

—  the   conviction  that  above  all    life's  inequalities    and    cruel 
injustices  between  individuals  and  nations  stood  a  God  who  could 
and  would  work  out  perfect  justice.    Whether  one  can    share 
Amos's  faith  or  not,  anyone  with  a  spark  of  soul  can  but  glory 
in  the  splendid  audacity  and  upward  reach  of  the  man,  who  with 
eyes  fully  open  to  the  injustices  of  life,  dared  first  to  affirm  such  a 
faith  hi  unequivocal  terms. 

Never  before  Hosea,  so  far  as  we  can  know  to-day,  had  any 
one  clearly  grasped  and  presented  the  theory  of  life  that  he  held 

—  the  conviction  that  above  all  man's  brutish  insensibility,  and 
cruel  lust  and  hate,  stood  a  God  who,  though  he  must  punish  to 
reform,  yet  loved  with  unquenchable  love  those  who  were  utterly 
indifferent  to  him.     Even  those  who  may  not  be  able  to  share 
Hosea's  faith,  can  revere  as  almost  more  than  human  the  man 
who  from  the  ashes  of  his  own  love-dream  rose  to  that  sublime 
faith.     This  twofold  message  of  justice  and  mercy  was  given  with 
all  the  power  of  orator  and  poet  to  a  blind  nation  rushing  to  its 
speedy  end. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   LITERARY   HERITAGE   FROM  NORTHERN   ISRAEL 

(Before. 722  B.C.) 

THE  Deborah-song  would,  in  itself,  prove  that  poetry  had  reached 
a  high  stage  of  development  in  Northern  Israel  before  the  rise 
of  the  monarchy.  When  the  Ephraimite  history  was  composed, 
probably  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II,  the 
writer  embodied  many  songs  sung  in  Israel  and  made  reference  to 
whole  books  of  poems  already  existing.  We  cannot  question  that 
many  poems  had  been  composed  in  Northern  Israel  during  the 
age  of  settlement  and  conquest  and  of  the  united  and  divided 
Kingdoms.  The  greater  part  of  the  stories  of  the  Judges  arose 
in  these  regions,  and  it  may  well  be  that  back  of  these  lay  old 
songs,  in  other  cases  than  that  of  the  great  deliverance  by  the 
waters  of  Megiddo. 

The  history  of  the  divided  kingdom,  as  given  hi  the  books  of 
Kings,  preserves  very  little  of  song;  but  the  so-called  "Blessing 
of  Moses,"  embodied  hi  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  was  probably 
written  in  Northern  Israel  during  the  prosperous  reign  of  Jeroboam 
II,  and  was  thus  nearly  contemporary  with  the  oracle  of  Amos. 
It  is  similar  to  the  earlier  "Blessing  of  Jacob,"  and  like  that  has 
comparatively  little  of  literary  charm. 

The  ancient  sacred  spots  of  Northern  Israel  were  centres  where 
many  traditions  were  preserved  which  found  their  ultimate 
place  in  the  Ephraimite  narrative;  the  suggestion  has  a  priori 
probability  that  many  songs  to  Jehovah  were  treasured  at  the 
same  places.  Amos,  who  speaks  of  Bethel  and  Gilgal  as  sanc- 
tuaries, condemns  the  noise  of  songs  and  viols  along  with  the 
sacrifices  at  the  solemn  assemblies  in  honor  of  Jehovah.  At  the 
king's  sanctuary  of  Bethel,  where  organized  worship  was  carried 
on  throughout  the  entire  history  of  Northern  Israel,  we  may  feel 
very  confident  that  there  was  a  special  collection  of  religious  songs. 

130 


LITERARY  HERITAGE   FROM  NORTHERN  ISRAEL     131 

Whether  we  can  identify  any  extant  songs  as  belonging  to  this 
collection  is  a  matter  of  more  uncertainty ;  yet  we  find  in  Israel's 
great  song  book  certain  hymns  which  seem  to  emanate  from  the 
Joseph  tribes,  at  least  in  then*  original  form.  In  the  first  stanza, 
for  example,  of  Psalm  80,  we  are  in  the  hill  country  of  Samaria 
where  Benjamin  was  at  the  southern  border,  Manasseh  on  the 
northern  slopes,  and  the  great  tribe  of  Ephraim  hi  the  central 
district. 

Give  ear,  0  Shepherd  of  Israel, 

Thou  that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock ; 

Thou  that  attest  above  the  cherubim,  shine  forth. 

Before  Ephraim  and  Benjamin  and  Manasseh,  stir  up  thy  might, 

And  come  to  save  us. 

Turn  us  again,  0  God  ; 

And  cause  thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved. 

The  time  is  one  of  distress  for  these  regions.  As  Mesha,  king 
of  Moab,  pictured  his  god,  Kemosh,  angry  with  him,1  so  the  poet 
of  Israel  finds  Jehovah,  God  of  hosts,  angry  with  his  people. 

0  Jehovah  God  of  hosts, 

How  long  wilt  thou  be  angry  against  the  prayer  of  thy  people  ? 

Thou  hast  fed  them  with  the  bread  of  tears, 

And  given  them  tears  to  drink  in  large  measure. 

Thou  makest  us  a  strife  unto  our  neighbors ; 

And  our  enemies  laugh  among  themselves. 

Turn  us  again,  O  God  of  hosts  ; 

And  cause  thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved.1 

In  Psalm  81  also,  Joseph  seems  to  be  the  portion  of  Israel  that 
is  in  the  thought  of  the  poet.-  The  new  moon  as  a  feast  day 
recalls  Amos's  picture  of  practices  hi  this  region,  and  the  thought 
seems  almost  to  echo  Hosea  as  the  song  progresses. 

Sing  aloud  unto  God  our  strength : 
Make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  God  of  Jacob. 
Raise  a  song,  and  bring  hither  the  timbrel, 
The  pleasant  harp  with  the  psaltery. 
Blow  the  trumpet  at  the  new  moon, 
At  the  full  moon,  on  our  feast-day. 

1  See  p.  89.  2  80  M. 


132  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

For  it  is  a  statute  for  Israel 

An  ordinance  of  the  God  of  Jacob. 

He  appointed  it  in  Joseph  for  a  testimony, 

When  he  went  out  over  the  land  of  Egypt, 

Where  I  heard  a  language  that  I  knew  not. 

I  removed  his  shoulder  from  the  burden : 

His  hands  were  freed  from  the  basket. 

Thou  calledst  in  trouble,  and  I  delivered  thee ; 

I  answered  thee  in  the  secret  place  of  thunder ; 

I  proved  thee  at  the  waters  of  Meribah. 

Hear,  O  my  people,  and  I  will  testify  unto  thee : 

0  Israel,  if  thou  wouldest  hearken  unto  me ! 
There  shall  no  strange  god  be  in  thee ; 
Neither  shalt  thou  worship  any  foreign  god. 

1  am  Jehovah  thy  God, 

Who  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt : 

Open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it. 

But  my  people  hearkened  not  to  my  voice  ; 

And  Israel  would  none  of  me. 

So  I  let  them  go  after  the  stubbornness  of  their  heart, 

That  they  might  walk  in  their  own  counsels. 

Oh  that  my  people  would  hearken  unto  me, 

That  Israel  would  walk  in  my  ways ! 

I  would  soon  subdue  their  enemies, 

And  turn  my  hand  against  their  adversaries. 

The  haters  of  Jehovah  should  submit  themselves  unto  him : 

But  their  time  should  endure  for  ever. 

He  would  feed  them  also  with  the  finest  of  the  wheat ; 

And  with  honey  out  of  the  rock  would  I  satisfy  thee. 

In  Psalm  77,  with  its  echoes  of  Deborah's  picture  of  Jehovah's 
advance,  as  the  God  of  the  thunder  storm,  Joseph  is  again 
prominent. 

Thou  art  the  God  that  doest  wonders : 

Thou  hast  made  known  thy  strength  among  the  peoples. 

Thou  hast  with  thine  arm  redeemed  thy  people, 

The  sons  of  Jacob  and  Joseph. 

The  waters  saw  thee,  O  God ; 

The  waters  saw  thee,  they  were  afraid : 

The  depths  also  trembled. 

The  clouds  poured  out  water ; 


LITERARY  HERITAGE  FROM  NORTHERN  ISRAEL     133 

The  skies  sent  out  a  sound : 

Thine  arrows  also  went  abroad. 

The  voice  of  thy  thunder  was  in  the  whirlwind ; 

The  lightnings  lightened  the  world : 

The  earth  trembled  and  shook. 

Thy  way  was  in  the  sea, 

And  thy  paths  hi  the  great  waters, 

And  thy  footsteps  were  not  known. 

Thou  leddest  thy  people  like  a  flock, 

By  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 

That  all  of  these  psalms  were  originally  composed  in  Northern 
Israel,  in  the  particular  region  occupied  by  the  Joseph  tribes, 
seems  highly  probable.  In  our  book  of  Psalms,  they  are  all 
assigned  to  an  Asaph  collection.  From  this  earlier  book  evidently 
Psalms  50  and  73  to  83  were  taken.  In  several  other  songs  of 
this  group  there  are  indications  of  Israelite  rather  than  Judean 
origin.  We  may  note  that  in  50  7  and  73  l  the  address  is  to 
Israel,  and  that  in  75  9  and  76  6  God  is  the  God  of  Jacob.  This 
is  his  title  in  the  psalms  of  only  the  Asaph  and  Korah  groups,  and 
is  in  harmony  with  a  theory  of  Northern  Israelitish  origin. 

The  suggestion  that  the  original  Asaph  collection  may  have  been 
the  hymnal  of  the  Bethel  sanctuary,  which  stood  in  Ephraim's 
territory,  is  a  most  attractive  one.1  Whether  it  be  a  true  surmise 
or  not,  we  may  feel  much  confidence  that  many  of  the  poems  in 
the  collection  were  composed  in  Ephraim  and  so  antedate  in  their 
original  form  the  downfall  of  Samaria  in  722  B.C.  To  date  the 
songs  more  precisely  is  in  most  cases  quite  impracticable,  though 
we  may  note,  for  example,  in  Psalm  76  4~8  a  majestic  description  of 
Israel's  God  as  the  God  of  War,  which  suggests  the  early  days  when 
the  wars  of  Jehovah  were  still  the  great  theme  of  his  people's  song. 

1  The  writer  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  the  lectures  of 
Dr.  John  P.  Peters,  delivered  at  Brown  University  in  January,  1910,  for 
the  noting  of  the  data  and  their  interpretation  in  the  above  discussion  of 
the  Asaph  Psalter,  as  also  in  the  following  discussion  of  the  Korahite. 
The  writer's  own  examination  of  the  evidence,  made  since  hearing  the 
lecture  discussion,  has  led  him  to  feel  more  assurance  that  the  Asaph 
collection  may  well  be  the  Bethel  hymnal  than  Dr.  Peters  ventured  to 
express.  Students  of  the  Psalms  must  eagerly  await  Dr.  Peters's  forth- 
coming commentary. 


134  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Glorious  art  thou  and  excellent, 

From  the  mountains  of  prey. 

The  stouthearted  are  made  a  spoil, 

They  have  slept  their  sleep ; 

And  none  of  the  men  of  might  have  found  their  hands. 

At  thy  rebuke,  0  God  of  Jacob, 

Both  chariot  and  horse  are  cast  into  a  dead  sleep. 

Thou,  even  thou,  art  to  be  feared ; 

And  who  may  stand  in  thy  sight  when  once  thou  art  angry? 

Thou  didst  cause  sentence  to  be  heard  from  heaven : 

The  earth  feared,  and  was  still. 

Again,  the  opening  of  82,  with  its  thought  of  God  judging  among 
the  gods,  seems  primitive.  In  the  later  verses,  however,  there 
comes  an  outcry  for  judgment  such  as  Amos  promised,  and 
this  portion  seems  certainly  later  than  the  preaching  of  that 
great  prophet.  It  is  conceivable  that  one  who  had  heard  Amos 
composed  this  prayer  in  the  days  of  injustice  which  continued 
for  a  short  generation  before  the  final  judgment  fell  on 
Israel. 

Of  the  Korahite  collection,  Psalms  42-^19  and  84-89,  several 
bear  marks  of  far  northern  origin,  not  in  Samaria  but  Galilee.  In 
the  last  Psalm  of  the  collection,  Tabor  and  Hermon  are  pictured 
as  rejoicing  in  Jehovah's  name.  This  line  could  hardly  have  been 
written  after  Gilead  and  Galilee  had  been  devastated  by  Tiglath- 
pileser  in  734,  and  had  been  taken  away  from  Israel.  We  are 
brought  to  the  northern  districts  during  the  prosperous  days  of 
the  kingdom.  Much  of  the  poem  may  have  been  added  later, 
but  some  of  the  verses  accord  well  with  a  relatively  early  ori- 
gin. 

O  Jehovah  God  of  hosts, 

Who  is  a  mighty  one,  like  unto  thee,  0  Jehovah  ? 

And  thy  faithfulness  is  round  about  thee. 

Thou  rulest  the  pride  of  the  sea ; 

When  the  waves  thereof  arise,  thou  stillest  them. 

Thou  hast  broken  Rahab  in  pieces,  as  one  that  is  slain; 

Thou  hast  scattered  thine  enemies  with  the  arm  of  thy  strength. 

The  heavens  are  thine,  the  earth  also  is  thine : 

The  world  and  the  fulness  thereof,  thou  hast  founded  them. 


LITERARY  HERITAGE   FROM  NORTHERN  ISRAEL     135 

The  north  and  the  south,  thou  hast  created  them : 

Tabor  and  Hennon  rejoice  in  thy  name. 

Thou  hast  a  mighty  arm ; 

Strong  is  thy  hand,  and  high  is  thy  right  hand.1 

Psalm  42  has  commonly  been  interpreted  as  the  sad  cry  of  one 
of  the  exiles  carried  to  Babylon  in  597  or  586  B.C.  Its  bitter 
sorrow  over  the  apparent  helplessness  of  God  to  care  for  his 
people  is  in  thought  and  expression  identical  with  that  which  found 
utterance  at  the  tune  of  the  great  exile.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
picture  of  deep  calling  unto  deep  at  the  noise  of  thy  waterfalls 
has  seemed  strange  in  a  poem,  the  occasion  of  which  is  the  last 
glimpse  of  Palestine  from  a  shoulder  of  Hennon.  It  may  be  that 
the  nucleus  of  the  poem  was  a  song  in  honor  of  God  manifest  in 
the  wonderful  living  spring  at  Dan  that  constitutes  one  of  the 
Jordan's  sources.2  This  spring,  no  doubt,  was  the  ancient  natural 
sanctuary  at  which  migrating  Dan  established  the  Levite  as 
priest  with  image  and  ephod3  and  which  Jeroboam  I  selected  as 
the  northern  sanctuary  for  his  kingdom. 

0  my  God,  my  soul  is  cast  down  within  me : 

Therefore  do  I  remember  thee  from  the  land  of  the  Jordan, 

And  the  Hennons,  from  the  hill  Mizar. 

Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at  the  noise  of  thy  waterfalls : 

All  thy  waves  and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  me. 

Yet  Jehovah  will  command  his  lovingkindness  in  the  daytime ; 

And  in  the  night  his  song  shall  be  with  me, 

Even  a  prayer  unto  the  God  of  my  life. 

1  will  say  unto  God  my  rock,  Why  hast  thou  forgotten  me  ? 
Why  go  I  mourning  because  of  the  oppression  of  the  enemy  ? 4 

The  opening  verses  of  46  suggest  the  same  sacred  spot. 

God  is  our  refuge  and  strength, 

A  very  present  help  in  trouble. 

Therefore  will  we  not  fear,  though  the  earth  do  change, 

And  though  the  mountains  be  shaken  into  the  heart  of  the  seas ; 

Though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be  troubled, 

Though  the  mountains  tremble  with  the  swelling  thereof. 

1  Psalm  89  S"13. 

1  For  the  sacred  character  of  springs  see  Chapter  II,  p.  14. 

3  Judges  17  and  18.  4  Psalm  42  •-•. 


136  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

It  is  an  attractive  suggestion  that  the  Korahite  collection  goes 
back  to  the  old  temple  at  Dan  and  that  the  Korahite  rebellion 
was  really  the  Dan  schism.1 

The  royal  marriage  hymn,  Psalm  45,  is  a  notable  member  of 
this  collection,  and  one  very  commonly  recognized  as  belonging 
to  the  period  of  the  monarchy.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  poem,  the 
praise  is  of  the  royal  bridegroom,  while  the  latter  part  is  filled  with 
praise  and  admiration  for  the  bride  and  hope  for  the  princely  line. 

My  heart  overfloweth  with  a  goodly  matter ; 

I  speak  the  things  which  I  have  made  touching  the  king : 

My  tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer. 

Thou  art  fairer  than  the  children  of  men ; 

Grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips : 

Therefore  God  hath  blessed  thee  for  ever. 

Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  0  mighty  one, 

Thy  glory  and  thy  majesty. 

And  in  thy  majesty  ride  on  prosperously, 

Because  of  truth  and  meekness  and  righteousness : 

And  thy  right  hand  shall  teach  thee  terrible  things. 

Thine  arrows  are  sharp ; 

The  peoples  fall  under  thee ; 

They  are  in  the  heart  of  the  king's  enemies. 

Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever : 

A  sceptre  of  equity  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom. 

Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  wickedness : 

Therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee 

With  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. 

All  thy  garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes,  and  cassia ; 
Out  of  ivory  palaces  stringed  instruments  have  made  thee  glad. 

Bangs'  daughters  are  among  thy  honorable  women : 

At  thy  right  hand  doth  stand  the  queen  in  gold  of  Ophir. 

Hearken,  0  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline  thine  ear ; 
Forget  also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's  house : 

So  will  the  king  desire  thy  beauty ; 
For  he  is  thy  Lord ;  and  reverence  thou  him. 
And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a  gift. 
The  rich  among  the  people  shall  entreat  thy  favor. 
The  king's  daughter  within  the  palace  is  all  glorious : 

1  This,  too,  is  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Peters,  made  in  the  lectures  referred 
to  above. 


LITERARY  HERITAGE  FROM  NORTHERN  ISRAEL     137 

Her  clothing  is  inwrought  with  gold. 

She  shall  be  led  unto  the  king  in  broidered  work : 

The  virgins  her  companions  that  follow  her 

Shall  be  brought  unto  thee. 

With  gladness  and  rejoicing  shall  they  be  led : 

They  shall  enter  into  the  king's  palace. 

Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children, 

Whom  thou  shalt  make  princes  in  all  the  earth. 

I  will  make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all  generations: 

Therefore  shall  the  peoples  give  thee  thanks  for  ever  and  ever. 

There  is  no  more  complex  and  difficult  problem  in  the  study  of 
Israel's  ancient  literature  than  the  history  of  the  Psalter.  The 
editorial  headings  of  the  individual  psalms  suggest  that  back  of 
its  present  division  into  five  books  lie  still  earlier  collections  which 
were  gathered  together  from  time  to  time.  The  duplication  of 
certain  psalms  and  many  other  indications  point  in  the  same 
direction  as  indicating  a  slow  and  complex  process  of  compilation. 
In  the  text  itself,  as  well  as  the  headings,  editorial  work  is  manifest, 
and  there  is  perhaps  no  early  psalm  which  has  not  suffered  con- 
siderable emendation.  It  is  only  when  the  later  stages  of  the 
development  of  this  great  treasury  of  Israel's  song  are  reached  that 
one  can  speak  upon  its  history  with  any  approach  to  definiteness. 
It  is,  however,  probable  that  somewhere  in  the  book  there  are 
many  relics  of  the  psalmody  of  Northern  Israel,  and  the  Korahite 
and  Asaphite  psalters  may  have  been  collections  made  in  the 
kingdom  ended  in  722  B.C. 

With  the  book  of  Hosea,  the  literature  of  Northern  Israel  comes 
to  its  climax  and  completion.  Though  the  development  of  prose 
writing  was  later  in  Israel  than  in  Judah,  it  reached  great  beauty 
and  power  in  the  Elijah  stories  and  in  Hosea.  In  721  thousands 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Ephraim  were  carried  exile  to  remote  regions 
and  settled  in  separate  districts  where  they  could  never  again 
unite  for  effective  rebellion  against  the  rule  of  Assyria.  Pagan 
peoples  from  other  conquered  districts  were  moved  into  Israel's 
territory,  and  a  mixed  population  was  formed  from  these  and  the 
remnants  of  Israel.  This  composite  population  in  time  learned 
to  worship  Jehovah,  who  had  now  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  god 
of  the  land,  and  ultimately  became  the  Samaritan  people. 


138  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

All  that  has  been  preserved  of  the  literature  of  Northern  Israel 
was  taken  over  and  handed  down  by  Judah.  Many  passages  in 
Hosea  referring  to  Judah  come  awkwardly  in  their  context  and 
were  probably  added  to  give  the  writing  application  to  the  nation 
which  preserved  it.  We  may  well  imagine  that  faithful  followers 
of  Jehovah  fled  from  the  self-doomed  nation  of  Israel  during  its 
later  years  of  anarchy  and  apostasy  and  found  a  refuge  in  Judah, 
and  that  they  brought  with  them  their  literary  treasures.  Thus, 
we  may  suppose,  the  lost  histories  of  the  northern  kingdom  and 
the  Elijah  and  Elisha  stories,  from  which  the  compiler  of  our  books 
of  Kings  got  his  material  for  the  events  of  the  north,  the  great 
Ephraimite  prophetic  history  of  the  earlier  times,  the  book  of 
Hosea,  and,  it  may  be,  collections  of  psalms  were  preserved  from 
the  destruction  which  must  have  overtaken  the  large  body  of  the 
literature  of  Northern  Israel  in  the  extinction  of  the  nation.  The 
literary  history  of  Northern  Israel  terminated  just  when  it  had 
entered  upon  its  great  era  of  prose  writing. 

There  is  no  cause  for  wonder  that  no  more  literature  has  been 
preserved  from  Israel.  It  is,  rather,  difficult  to  see  how  so  much 
could  have  survived  the  extinction  of  the  nation,  except  as  we 
believe  that  the  influence  of  a  nation  which  had  produced  Deborah, 
Samuel,  Elijah,  and  Hosea,  and  which  could  tell  in  such  noble 
verse  and  prose  the  story  of  its  leaders,  could  not  perish. 


CHAPTER  X 

BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC   LITERATURE 

ISAIAH 
(737  to  701  B.C.) 

IT  was  about  the  time  of  Hosea's  latest  prophecies  that  Isaiah 
began  his  work  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  life  of  Jehovah's  people 
was  henceforth  to  centre ;  the  year  that  king  Uzziah  died,  that  is, 
the  year  that  Menahem  assassinated  Shallum  in  Samaria,  Isaiah 
became  aware  of  his  mission. 

Uzziah,  in  his  later  years,  had  been  a  leper,  and  his  son  Jotham 
had  served  as  regent.  This  son  survived  his  father  two  years  only. 
Before  his  death,  there  was  an  alarming  coalition  formed  against 
him.  Damascus,  which  had  been  prostrate  since  its  terrible 
defeat  by  Assyria  in  797,  had  begun  to  revive ;  its  natural  resources 
made  this  inevitable  when  it  was  not  swept  by  devastating  war. 
The  king,  Rezin,  made  confederacy  with  Pekah  of  Israel  against 
Judah,  and  Jotham,  [dying,  left  his  twenty  year  old  son  to  face 
this  crisis.  It  is  almost  certain  that  the  cause  of  the  union  against 
Judah  was  refusal  to  unite  in  rebellion  against  Assyria.  Two 
years  earlier,  just  before  the  death  of  Uzziah,  when  Menahem  was 
king  of  Israel,  a  coalition  of  nineteen  states,  including  the  region 
from  the  Euphrates  to  Judah,  had  been  formed  to  check  the  ad- 
vance of  an  aggressive  king  on  the  throne  of  Assyria,  who  sought 
to  realize  the  dreams  of  earlier  kings  by  extending  his  power  to  the 
Mediterranean.  This  confederation  had  proved  fruitless  in  check- 
ing the  advance  of  the  mighty  Tiglath-pileser  who  appears  to 
have  marched  down  the  coast  plain  of  Palestine  and  to  have  reached 
the  farthermost  limits  of  the  confederate  district,  while  both 
Menahem  and  Uzziah  paid  tribute.  That,  too,  was  the  year  that 
king  Uzziah  died. 

139 


140  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  coalition  of  two  years  later,  in  which  Damascus  and  Israel 
were  united  against  Judah,  brought  Tiglath-pileser  once  more 
into  the  westland.  After  capturing  Damascus,  he  took  away 
from  Israel  and  practically  depopulated  her  territory  east  of  the 
Jordan  and  north  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  It  was  now  that 
Pekah  was  killed  and  Hoshea  placed  upon  the  throne  of  the 
little  kingdom  that  was  to  be  ruled  from  the  city  of  Samaria.1 
These  events  gave  the  terminus  ad  quern  for  the  latest  preaching 
of  Hosea.  According  to  the  narrative  in  Kings,  Ahaz  sought  help 
from  Assyria  as  a  humble  vassal,  and  so  Tiglath-pileser  came  at 
just  this  time.2  Ahaz  went  to  meet  the  Assyrian  overlord  ftt 
Damascus,  and  Judah  thus  renewed  her  vassalage  to  the  eastern 
power.  She  maintained  this  allegiance  some  thirty  years  longer, 
and  so  escaped  when  foolish  rebellion  caused  the  downfall  of 
Northern  Israel. 

The  first  period  of  Isaiah's  ministry  may  be  counted  as  extend- 
ing over  the  twelve  years  from  the  last  year  of  Uzziah  to  the 
final  revolt  and  beginning  of  the  long  siege  of  Samaria.  Many 
of  the  prophecies  delivered  by  Isaiah  during  these  years  require 
a  knowledge  of  the  general  facts  of  the  history  for  an  appreciation 
of  their  significance. 

The  account  of  Isaiah's  call,  chapter  6,  is  an  example  of  vision 
prophecy  that  may  recall  Amos  7-9  in  its  form. 

In  the  year  that  king  Uzziah  died  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne, 
high  and  lifted  up;  and  his  train  filled  the  temple.  Above  him  stood 
the  seraphim :  each  one  had  six  wings ;  with  twain  he  covered  his  face, 
and  with  twain  he  covered  his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly.  And  one 
cried  unto  another,  and  said,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  Jehovah  of  hosts :  the 
whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory.  And  the  foundations  of  the  thresholds 
shook  at  the  voice  of  him  that  cried,  and  the  house  was  filled  with  smoke. 
Then  said  I,  Woe  is  me  !  for  I  am  undone ;  because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean 
lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips :  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  the  King,  Jehovah  of  hosts. 

Then  flew  one  of  the  seraphim  unto  me,  having  a  live  coal  in  his  hand, 
which  he  had  taken  with  the  tongs  from  off  the  altar:  and  he  touched 
my  mouth  with  it,  and  said,  Lo,  this  hath  touched  thy  lips ;  and  thine 
iniquity  is  taken  away,  and  thy  sin  forgiven.  And  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 

1  2  Kings  15  29fl.  2  2  Kings  16  7"9. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     141 

Lord,  saying,  Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who  will  go  for  us  ?  Then  I  said, 
Here  am  I;  send  me.  And  he  said,  Go,  and  tell  this  people,  Hear  ye 
indeed,  but  understand  not ;  and  see  ye  indeed,  but  perceive  not.  Make 
the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their 
eyes ;  lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  under- 
stand with  their  heart,  and  turn  again,  and  be  healed.  Then  said  I,  Lord, 
how  long  ?  And  he  answered,  Until  cities  be  waste  without  inhabitant, 
and  houses  without  man,  and  the  land  become  utterly  waste,  and  Jehovah 
have  removed  men  far  away,  and  the  forsaken  places  be  many  in  the 
midst  of  the  land.  And  if  there  be  yet  a  tenth  in  it,  it  also  shall  in  turn 
be  eaten  up :  as  a  terebinth,  and  as  an  oak,  whose  stock  remaineth,  when 
they  are  felled ;  so  the  holy  seed  is  the  stock  thereof. 

Vision  experience,  explain  it  as  we  may  in  terms  of  scientific 
psychology,  has  been  notably  characteristic  of  great  religious 
leaders  throughout  history.  The  Hebrew  prophets,  Paul, 
Mohammed,  Savonarola,  Luther,  come  instantly  to  mind,  and 
Christ  himself  may  have  recounted  to  his  followers  in  the  form 
of  objective  visions  the  struggle  through  which  he  passed  just 
before  entering  upon  his  public  career. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  just  how  far  this  form  of  recorded 
experience  may  have  been  a  truly  ecstatic  condition  with  Isaiah 
and  other  great  prophets  of  ancient  Israel,  and  how  far  it  may  have 
developed  into  a  consciously  poetic  method  of  describing  the 
growth  of  convictions.  In  the  picture  as  we  have  it  in  Chapter  6, 
it  seems  that  the  experiences  of  later  years  must  be  included.  On 
the  other  hand  there  is  no  reason  for  doubting  that  the  great 
convictions  which  set  Isaiah  to  his  long,  life  task  culminated  in 
some  sort  of  a  trance,  probably  in  the  temple,  the  year  that  king 
Uzziah  died,  the  year  the  nation  paid  tribute  to  Assyria.  Before 
the  inner  experience  of  that  day  was  committed  to  writing  in  its 
present  form,  consciously  or  unconsciously  later  thoughts  must 
have  become  mingled  with  the  initial  convictions.  All  these  fine- 
spun distinctions,  inevitable  to  those  influenced  by  modern  psy- 
chological science,  were  no  doubt  absolutely  foreign  to  the  thought 
of  the  great  prophet,  and,  even  to-day,  the  best  test  of  the  visions 
of  religious  enthusiasts  and  teachers  is  not  psychological  analysis, 
but  the  objective  moral  and  spiritual  worth  of  the  visions. 

The  notable  fact  is  not  that  the  Hebrew  prophets  had  symbolic 


142  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

visions,  but  that  their  visions  kept  so  close  to  the  actual  needs 
of  their  days  and  could  be  described  in  a  form  containing  moral 
and  spiritual  truth  still  eminently  sober,  sane,  and  valid.  Isaiah 
saw,  it  is  true,  the  Lord  sitting  upon  an  exalted  throne,  with  his 
train  filling  the  temple,  the  heavenly  beings,  the  house  filled  with 
smoke,  and  all  the  rest  of  that  nature ;  but  he  saw,  at  the  same 
time,  the  sin  of  his  own  life,  the  sin  and  insensibility  of  his  nation, 
and  the  inevitable  consequences.  These  were  hard,  sober  facts 
that  give  the  vision  validity  to  our  scientific  minds. 

Again,  we  may  trace  through  the  vision  the  steps  of  Isaiah's 
inner  experience :  First,  a  conviction  of  an  exalted  God ;  next,  a 
sense  of  his  own  unholiness  and  that  of  his  people;  then,  assur- 
ance that  God  can  purify  his  unholy  members ;  finally  the  hearing 
of  the  Divine  call,  "Whom  shall  I  send  and  who  will  go  for  us?" 
and  the  ready  answer.  The  experience  is  in  substance  that  of 
men  in  all  ages  of  history;  normal  even  down  to  the  twentieth 
century,  known  to  many  a  man  who  never  saw  any  such  vision  as 
that  recorded  here.  The  form  of  Isaiah's  vision  may  be  foreign 
to  us,  but  woe  worth  the  day  when  the  essential  experience  which  it 
embodies  becomes  wholly  unknown.1 

1  It  certainly  is  an  experience  familiar  to  any  one  who  comes  at  all 
into  contact  with  the  inner  life  of  young  men  and  women  to-day.  One 
who  has  had  unusual  opportunities  for  such  contact  writes:  "In  his 
'Spiritual  Significance  of  Modern  Socialism,'  John  Spargo  asks  what  he 
evidently  regards  as  an  unanswerable  question :  '  Where  to-day  are  the 
dreamers  of  dreams  setting  the  hearts  of  men  aflame  with  holy  enthusiasms, 
setting  the  feet  of  young  men  and  maidens  marching  toward  the  vision? 
Where  is  there  faith  in  mankind,  faith  in  the  future  of  the  race,  in  the 
capacity  of  mankind  to  rise  higher  and  higher,  to  complete  the  chain  of 
evolution  from  brute  to  brother?' 

"Where?  In  all  our  American  colleges,  North  and  South,  East  and 
West.  There  is  no  lack  of  dreamers ;  of  hearts  aflame  with  holy  enthu- 
siasm ;  of  young  men  and  maidens  eager  to  march  toward  the  vision ; 
of  faith  in  the  capacity  of  mankind  to  complete  the  chain  of  evolution 
from  brute  to  brother.  What  these  young  men  and  maidens  need  is  not 
chiefly  greater  enthusiasm,  inspiring  them  to  march,  but  wise  counsel 
teaching  them  in  what  direction  to  march ;  not  more  vision,  but  more 
practical  knowledge,  and  more  wise  self-reliance,  that  they  may  make 
the  vision  real.  In  these  ten  years  of  college  experience  I  have  had  a  few 
come  to  me  with  the  question,  How  to  escape  from  some  pit  into  which, 
through  ignorance  or  sudden  gust  of  passion,  they  have  fallen;  but  I 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     143 

Chapters  2-5  seem  to  form  a  distinct  group  of  prophecies  assign- 
able to  the  earliest  years  of  Isaiah's  ministry,  coming  therefore 
shortly  after  the  inaugural  vision  of  chapter  6.  They  begin  with 
their  own-  heading :  The  word  that  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz  saw 
concerning  Judah  and  Jerusalem.1  The  thought  of  Jehovah's 
exaltation,  dominant  in  the  opening  vision,  here  finds  its  sequel 
in  Isaiah's  characteristic  pronouncement  of  judgment  on  all  that 
is  proud,  haughty,  and  lifted  up.  This  recurs  several  times. 

That  Isaiah  had  caught  the  spirit  and  probably  the  very  words 
of  Amos  may  be  seen  hi  such  a  passage  as 

Jehovah  standeth  up  to  contend  and  standeth  to  judge  the  peoples. 
Jehovah  will  enter  into  judgment  with  the  elders  of  his  people,  and  the 
princes  thereof :  It  is  ye  that  have  eaten  up  the  vineyard ;  the  spoil  of 
the  poor  is  in  your  houses :  what  mean  ye  that  ye  crush  my  people,  and 
grind  the  face  of  the  poor  ?  saith  the  Lord,  Jehovah  of  hosts. 

The  wanton  luxury  of  wealthy  women  which  Amos  so  vividly 
portrayed  as  the  destructive  trampling  of  heedless  kine,  is  pictured 
with  more  of  realistic  detail  by  Isaiah. 

Moreover  Jehovah  said,  Because  the  daughters  of  Zion  are  haughty, 
and  walk  with  outstretched  necks  and  wanton  eyes,  walking  and  mincing 
as  they  go,  and  making  a  tinkling  with  their  feet;  therefore  the  Lord 
will  smite  with  a  scab  the  crown  of  the  head  of  the  daughters  of  Zion, 
and  Jehovah  will  lay  bare  their  secret  parts.  In  that  day  the  Lord  will 
take  away  the  beauty  of  their  anklets,  and  the  cauls,  and  the  crescents ; 
the  pendants,  and  the  bracelets,  and  the  mufflers ;  the  headtires,  and  the 
ankle  chains,  and  the  sashes,  and  the  perfume-boxes,  and  the  amulets; 
the  rings,  and  the  nose-jewels ;  the  festival  robes,  and  the  mantles,  and 
the  shawls,  and  the  satchels ;  the  hand-mirrors,  and  the  fine  linen,  and  the 
turbans,  and  the  veils.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  instead  of  sweet 
spices  there  shall  be  rottenness ;  and  instead  of  a  girdle,  a  rope ;  and  in- 
stead of  well  set  hair,  baldness;  and  instead  of  a  robe,  a  girding  of 
sackcloth ;  branding  instead  of  beauty.  Thy  men  shall  fall  by  the  sword, 
and  thy  mighty  in  the  war.  And  her  gates  shall  lament  and  mourn; 

have  had  hundreds  come  to  me  with  the  question,  How  can  I  best  serve 
my  fellow-men ;  how  best  promote  universal  brotherhood  ?  And  this 
counsel  has  been  sought  alike  by  men  intending  to  go  into  the  ministry, 
into  law,  into  business,  into  teaching,  into  journalism." — Lyman  Abbott, 
in  The  Outlook,  August,  1909. 


144  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

and  she  shall  be  desolate  and  sit  upon  the  ground.  And  seven  women  shall 
take  hold  of  one  man  in  that  day,  saying,  We  will  eat  our  own  bread,  and 
wear  our  own  apparel :  only  let  us  be  called  by  thy  name ;  take  thou  away 
our  reproach.1 

Here  the  contrast  between  the  unimaginative  picture  of  the 
city  man  and  that  of  the  herdsman  of  Tekoa  is  notable.  Both 
in  the  dignity  of  a  certain  reserve  and  in  poetic  power  the  ad- 
vantage, in  this  instance,  seems  to  be  wholly  with  the  herdsman; 
the  passage  is  not  a  fair  example  of  Isaiah's  poetic  power,  though 
a  wonderful  instance  of  concrete  description. 

Like  Amos,  Isaiah  could  on  occasion  assume  the  role  of  minstrel 
and,  with  winsome  spirit,  begin  in  the  lively  measure  of  a  love-song. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  excel  the  charming  translation  of  Canon 
Cheyne,  who  has  caught  this  spirit  of  the  song  in  chapter  5  1-7. 

A  song  will  I  sing  of  my  friend, 
A  love-song  touching  his  vineyard. 

A  vineyard  belongs  to  my  friend, 

On  a  hill  that  is  fruitful  and  sunny ; 
He  digged  it,  and  cleared  it  of  stones, 

And  planted  there  vines  that  are  choice ; 
A  tower  he  built  in  the  midst, 

And  hewed  also  therein  a  wine- vat  ; 
And  he  looked  to  find  grapes  that  are  good, 

Alas !  it  bore  grapes  that  are  wild. 

Ye,  in  Jerusalem  dwelling, 

And  ye,  who  are  freemen  of  Judah, 
Judge  ye,  I  pray,  between  me 

And  my  cherished  vineyard. 
What  could  have  been  done  for  my  vineyard 

That  I  had  not  done  ? 
When  I  looked  to  find  grapes  that  are  good, 

Why  bore  it  grapes  that  are  wild  ? 

And  now  let  me  give  you  to  know 

What  I  purpose  to  do  to  my  vineyard : 
I  will  take  away  its  hedge, 

That  it  be  eaten  up, 

1 3  ltt-4  *. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     145 

I  will  break  through  its  walls, 

That  it  be  trodden  down ; 
Yea,  I  will  make  it  a  waste, 

Neither  pruned  nor  weeded ; 

It  shall  shoot  up  thorns  and  briers, 

And  the  clouds  will  I  enjoin  that  they  rain  not  upon  it. 

For  the  vineyard  of  Yhvh  Sabaoth  is  the  House  of  Israel, 

And  the  men  of  Judah  his  cherished  plantation ; 

And  he  looked  for  justice,  but  behold  !  bloodshed, 

For  righteousness,  but  behold  !  an  outcry.1 

The  closing  lines  give  a  striking  play  upon  words  in  the  contrasted 
"justice"  and  "bloodshed,"  "righteousness"  and  "outcry";  the 
words  are  mishpat  and  mispah,  tsedhaqa  and  tseaqa.2 

The  lines  that  follow  in  chapter  5  begin  with  the  weird  lament 
of  the  mourners  so  often  heard  in  Jerusalem's  streets  —  "Hoy !" 
Thus  they  lamented  for  the  man  of  God  slain  by  the  lion  in  the 
early  years  of  the  kingdom,  "Hoy  !  my  brother."  Thus  Jeremiah 
forbad  them  to  mourn  for  Josiah's  unworthy  son,  saying  "Hoy! 
my  brother"  or  "Hoy!  my  sister,"  or  "Hoy!  lord,"  or  "Hoy! 
his  glory!"3  Isaiah's  lament  is  not,  however,  for  the  dead,  but 
for  the  living  and  the  prosperous ;  it  is  over  the  wealthy  land  that 
he  utters  the  mourner's  cry. 

In  the  prosperous  reigns  of  Jeroboam  II  and  Uzziah,  sudden 
national  expansion  had  given  opportunity  for  great  increase  of 
wealth  to  a  certain  ruthless  type  of  man  who  always  comes  to  the 
front  under  the  social  conditions  prevailing  at  such  a  time.  Amos 
had  painted  him  and  his  vulgar  wife,  in  strong,  unfading  colors, 
at  their  coarse  enjoyments,  and  in  their  brutal  indifference  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  poor.  Isaiah  gives  the  economic  condition,  in 
one  respect  more  clearly  than  Amos.  The  small,  independent 
landowner,  the  very  bone  and  sinew  of  the  nation,  is  being  crushed 
out,  for  these  strong  brutes  by  use  of  their  increasing  resources 
are  laying  field  to  field  till  there  is  no  room  and  they  are  made 
to  dwell  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  land.4 

In  the  days  of  Ahab,  more  than  a  century  before,  the  influence 

1  Cheyne,  Isaiah,  Polychrome  Bible. 

2  The  second  contrast  might  be  suggested  by  righteousness  and  riotous- 
ness.  3  Jeremiah  22  18.  4  5  8. 

L 


146  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

of  the  Phoenician  princess,  whom  the  king  married,  had  led  him  to 
override  the  rights  of  a  private  citizen  in  his  ancestral  vineyard, 
and  the  great  prophet  of  the  ninth  century  had  pronounced  awful 
curse  upon  the  royal  line.  Now,  not  the  king  merely,  but  many 
who  had  gained  the  necessary  economic  power,  were  displacing  the 
freeholder.  The  economic  inequalities  which  manifested  them- 
selves particularly  in  this  tendency  were  doubtless  one  chief 
element  of  the  circumstances  that  gave  rise  to  Israel's  great 
prophetic  movement. 

Isaiah  sang  the  doom:  — 

Woe  to  the  joiners  of  house  to  house. 

Field  they  add  to  field, 
Till  there's  an  end  of  room ; 

And  ye  are  made  to  dwell  alone. 

Therefore  hath  Jehovah  of  Hosts  to  me  sworn  :* 
In  truth,  many  houses  shall  desolate  be ; 
Houses  great  and  fair,  uninhabited.2 

The  remainder  of  chapter  5,  as  well  as  the  verses  translated 
above,  shows  that  wonderful  blending  of  emotion  and  hard  fact 
which  was  discussed  in  connection  with  Hosea.  Verses  11,  12, 
22,  23  offer  excellent  examples. 

Woe  unto  them  that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning,  that  they  may  follow 
strong  drink;  that  tarry  late  into  the  night,  till  wine  inflame  them  !  And 
the  harp  and  the  lute,  the  tabret  and  the  pipe,  and  wine,  are  in  their 
feasts;  but  they  regard  not  the  work  of  Jehovah,  neither  have  they 
considered  the  operation  of  his  hands. 

Woe  unto  them  that  are  mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men  of  strength 
to  mingle  strong  drink;  that  justify  the  wicked  for  a  bribe,  and  take 
away  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  from  him ! 

The  last  line  may  mean  nothing  more  than  the  justice  of  the  just 
man's  case,  but  it  suggests  the  possibility  that  the  ancient  poet 
saw  something  of  the  truth  embodied  in  the  familiar  lines  of  the 
modern  seer :  — 

He  who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash ; 
But  he  who  filches  my  good  name,  etc. 

1  Adopting  an  emendation  of  text.     See  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.  in  loc. 

2  Isaiah  5  »-10. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     147 

Whether  the  ancient  prophet  saw  the  greater  injustice  done  by 
the  bribed  court  than  the  mere  taking  of  property,  he  certainly 
does,  at  times,  go  far  deeper  than  matters  of  external  conduct  in 
analyzing  the  national  situation.  He  follows,  for  example,  in 
the  line  of  profound  insight  that  Hosea  had  first  suggested  and 
that  found  its  culmination  only  in  the  teaching  of  him  who  spake 
as  never  man  spake ;  echoing  Hosea,  Isaiah  cries,  My  people  are 
gone  into  captivity  for  lack  of  knowledge ; 1  and  he  adds  something 
which  is  a  great  advance  in  the  analysis  of  this  phase  of  the  nation's 
need,  Woe  unto  them  that  call  evil  good  and  good  evil,  that  put 
darkness  for  light  and  light  for  darkness.2  More  than  seven 
hundred  years  later,  Jesus  would  declare  guilty  of  eternal 
sin  only  those  who  called  the  good  evil,  who  counted  deeds  of 
mercy  the  work  of  Beelzebub ;  moral  perversity  that  could  not 
comprehend  the  light  of  love  when  it  shone  was  the  one  condition 
in  man  of  which  Jesus  despaired.3  Like  the  greater  one  to  follow, 
Isaiah  would  not  stop  with  surface  indications,  whether  these 
were  cruel  monopoly,  bribery,  or  drunken  debauchery. 

In  addition  to  this  penetrating  insight  into  actual  social  and 
spiritual  conditions  and  their  underlying  causes,  we  may  note 
the  imaginative  power  of  this  great  age  in  literature  when  fact  and 
emotion  are  still  united. 

Therefore  Sheol  hath  enlarged  its  desire,  and  opened  its  mouth  without 
measure ;  and  their  glory,  and  their  multitude,  and  their  pomp,  and  he 
that  rejoiceth  among  them,  descend  into  it.  And  the  mean  man  is  bowed 
down,  and  the  great  man  is  humbled,  and  the  eyes  of  the  lofty  are  humbled, 
but  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  exalted  in  justice,  and  God  the  Holy  One  is  sanc- 
tified in  righteousness.  Then  shall  the  lambs  feed  as  in  their  pasture, 
and  the  waste  places  of  the  fat  ones  shall  wanderers  eat. 

Woe  unto  them  that  draw  iniquity  with  cords  of  falsehood,  and  sin  as 
it  were  with  a  cart  rope ;  that  say,  Let  him  make  speed,  let  him  hasten 
his  work,  that  we  may  see  it;  and  let  the  counsel  of  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  draw  nigh  and  come,  that  we  may  know  it ! 4 

And  he  will  lift  up  an  ensign  to  the  nations  from  far,  and  will  hiss  for 
them  from  the  end  of  the  earth ;  and,  behold,  they  shall  come  with  speed 
swiftly.  None  shall  be  weary  nor  stumble  among  them;  none  shall 
slumber  nor  sleep ;  neither  shall  the  girdle  of  their  loins  be  loosed,  nor  the 
latchet  of  their  shoes  be  broken:  whose  arrows  are  sharp,  and  all  their 
151..  j52o.  » Mark  3  22-30j  Matthew  12  «"».  «514-19. 


148  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

bows  bent ;  their  horses'  hoofs  shall  be  accounted  as  flint,  and  their  wheels 
as  a  whirlwind :  their  roaring  shall  be  like  a  lioness,  they  shall  roar  like 
young  lions ;  yea,  they  shall  roar,  and  lay  hold  of  the  prey,  and  carry  it 
away  safe,  and  there  shall  be  none  to  deliver.  And  they  shall  roar  against 
them  in  that  day  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea :  and  if  one  look  unto  the  land, 
behold,  darkness  and  distress;  and  the  light  is  darkened  in  the  clouds.1 

If  no  other  words  of  Isaiah  had  been  preserved  than  those  of 
the  early  group  of  prophecies  now  forming  chapters  2-5  of  his 
book,  the  author's  reputation  as  orator,  poet,  and  seer  would  be 
amply  established.  The  last  lines  printed  above  afford  a  fine 
example  of  the  splendid  sweep  of  the  prophet's  pictures  of  the 
future,  when  he  lets  his  imagination  soar  above  all  present  evils 
and  beyond  their  consequences,  buoyed  by  his  sure  faith  in  the 
God  who  will  ultimately  bring  all  nations  to  Himself.  The  rush 
of  picture  upon  picture,  figure  changing  to  figure,  is  most  char- 
acteristic of  Isaiah  who,  despite  his  rapid  changes,  rarely  mixes 
a  figure  or  becomes  turbid.  The  last  four  lines  illustrate  the 
poet's  wonderful  sense  of  sound  and  love  of  sudden  contrast. 
When  he  speaks  of  roaring  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea,  the  vowels 
are  largely  broad  and  full.  In  the  sudden  change  of  attention 
from  the  sea  to  the  storm-tossed  mariner  looking  keenly  for  the 
light  on  the  shore,  the  vowels  become  short  and  thin,  followed 
often  by  sharp  dentals  or  linguals.  As  we  pronounce  the  Hebrew 
words,  our  vocal  organs  are  forced  into  almost  strained  constric- 
tion, so  characteristic  of  tense  feeling.  If  the  Lange-James  theory 
of  emotion  be  true,  then  the  ancient  poet,  playing  upon  his  reader 
as  upon  an  instrument,  superinduces  in  him,  through  the  emo- 
tional reaction  from  the  physical  action  required  to  pronounce  the 
words,  the  anxiety  of  the  sailor  pictured.  Isaiah  adds  to  Amos' s 
and  Hosea's  wealth  of  figures  from  inland  nature  a  profound 
appreciation  of  the  sea's  majesty  and  power,  familiarity  with  the 
mariner's  dangers,  and  a  sense  of  ocean's  organ  tones. 

One  of  the  most  notable  examples  of  Isaiah's  wealth  of  figura- 
tive language  is  found  in  "the  great  arraignment"  which  forms 
the  opening  chapter  of  the  book.  It  is  possible  to  enumerate  in 
the  chapter  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  distinct  figures  or  illustrations 

i  5  26-30.  "Thereof"  omitted  on  ground  of  slight  emendation  of  text. 
See  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.  in  loc. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     149 

from  home  and  farm  life,  from  industry,  nature,  and  history; 
all  are  so  perfect  that  even  for  slow  Occidental  wit,  the  rapid 
succession  serves  to  make  the  thought  effective.  This  chapter  is 
an  admirable  example,  too,  of  the  prophetic  type  of  address. 
Though  the  whole,  in  the  form  we  have  it,  could  be  delivered  in 
less  than  five  minutes,  it  contains  apostrophe  to  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  mandatory  address  to  rulers  of  Sodom  and  people  of 
Gomorrah,  tender  appeal  by  Jehovah  of  hosts,  the  mighty  one  of 
Israel,  followed  by  glorious  promises.  The  great  thoughts  wrought 
out  by  the  two  unique  and  distinct  personalities,  Amos  and  Hosea, 
are  here  poured  forth  in  rapid  succession,  yet  in  a  form  that  is 
quite  Isaiah's  own,  so  that  one  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  two 
earlier  prophets  would  never  think  of  ascribing  this  address  to 
either  of  them.  The  thought  of  Jehovah  as  the  holy  one  of 
Israel  and  the  conception  of  a  remnant  to  be  left  are  distinctively 
Isaiah's. 

While  this  address  deals  specifically  with  existing  conditions, 
it  does  not  allude  to  any  great  political  events  which  would  connect 
it  clearly  with  some  one  period  of  Isaiah's  ministry.  The  devas- 
tation of  the  land  may  have  been  that  of  the  Syro-Ephraimitish 
war,  two  years  after  the  prophet's  inaugural  vision,  or  it  may  have 
been  due  to  one  of  the  Assyrian  invasions  a  few  years  later. 

Were  we  arranging  the  volume  of  Isaiah's  sermons  we  should 
put  first  the  title  page,  verse  1  of  chapter  1 :  — 

THE  VISION 

OF 
ISAIAH  THE  SON  OF  AMOZ 

WHICH  HE  SAW 
CONCERNING  JUDAH  AND  JERUSALEM 

IN  THE  DATS  OF 

UZZIAH,  JOTHAM,  AHAZ,  AND  HEZEKIAH 
KINGS  OF  JUDAH 

and  then  the  inaugural  vision  of  chapter  6.  The  address  of 
chapter  1,  however,  whether  it  was  delivered  early  or  late  in  the 
ministry,  forms  an  admirable  starting-point  for  the  appreciation 
of  Isaiah's  message  in  its  relation  to  the  preceding  prophets  and 
in  certain  of  its  distinctive  elements. 


150  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Viewing  chapters  1-6  as  a  whole,  we  find  in  them  a  noble  sequel 
for  Judea  to  the  twofold  message  which  had  just  been  given  to 
Israel.  In  literary  form,  they  furnish  notable  examples  of  the 
symbolic  vision,  song,  and  effective  rhetoric  which  are  so  mingled 
in  the  greatest  prophetic  literature. 

If  one  reads  on  into  chapter  7,  he  comes  suddenly  upon  simple 
narrative  in  which  Isaiah  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person.  It  is 
a  section  about  the  prophet  similar  in  form  to  the  stories  of  Elijah 
or  the  brief  narrative  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  book  of  Amos. 
The  story  tells  of  the  coalition  between  Rezin  and  Pekah  against 
Ahaz  of  Judah,  and  of  Isaiah's  efforts  to  prevent  Ahaz  from  call- 
ing in  the  aid  of  Assyria.  The  scene  of  the  fateful  interview  is  at 
the  end  of  the  conduit  of  the  upper  pool,  whither  the  king  had 
gone,  probably  to  look  after  the  water-supply  of  the  city  in  view 
of  the  threatened  siege.  With  Isaiah  is  his  son,  Shear-Jashub, 
whose  name  is  a  standing,  twofold  prophecy;  "a  remnant  shall 
return"  contains  both  menace  and  promise  —  menace  of  coming 
exile,  promise  that  the  nation  shall  not  utterly  perish. 

Isaiah's  description  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Damascus  as  two 
stumps  of  smoking  firebrands  is  inimitable.  Two  years  before, 
Judah  had  been  united  with  eighteen  other  states  in  an  imposing 
alliance  against  Assyria,  that  fell  to  pieces  at  the  advance  of  the 
Assyrian  king.  Pekah's  predecessor  had  humbly  paid  tribute,  to 
save  his  neck  and-  state,  and  the  Assyrian  had  entered  Damascus. 
Now  the  stumps  of  these  firebrands,  just  smoking,  hoped  to  kindle 
an  effective  conflagration.  Ahaz  was  wise  in  refusing  to  ally 
himself  with  them ;  Isaiah  was  wiser  in  bidding  him  not  to  seek 
Assyrian  aid,  the  price  of  which  would  be  complete  vassalage. 
Jerusalem  with  its  great  natural  advantages  was  capable  always 
of  enduring  prolonged  siege,  and  the  stumps  would  soon  consume 
themselves. 

The  king  is  determined  to  carry  out  his  own  plan,  and  so  Isaiah 
offers  him  a  sign  from  Jehovah,  such  as  he  shall  himself  choose. 
With  feigned  reverence,  Ahaz  declines  to  put  God  to  the  test, 
and  the  prophet,  in  Jehovah's  name,  determines  the  sign  to  be 
given.  As  soon  as  a  young  woman  *  can  bear  a  child  and  that 

1  The  Hebrew  word  translated  "virgin"  means  simply  a  young  woman 
of  marriageable  age,  whether  maid  or  newly  married. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JTJDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      151 

child  can  grow  to  the  earliest  choice  of  good  and  evil,  nay  sooner, 
the  land  whose  two  kings  thou  abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken.  The 
time  element  is  surely  a  main  feature  of  the  prediction,  but  Isaiah's 
words  are  not  merely  a  general  poetic  statement  of  time;  he 
refers  to  some  particular  child  to  be  born  to  whom  the  symbolic 
name  God-with-us,  Immanuel,  is  to  be  given. 

This  promise  of  deliverance  from  the  present  threatening 
danger  is  followed  by  impassioned,  figurative  predictions  of 
coming  judgment  from  the  more  distant  regions  of  Egypt  and 
Assyria.  If  they  were  originally  spoken  as  a  part  of  the 
Immanuel  prophecy,  the  connection  of  thought  would  seem  to  be 
warning  against  the  proposed  Assyrian  alliance. 

The  following  chapter  (8)  returns  to  the  promise  of  the  coming 
downfall  of  Samaria  and  Damascus,  timed  by  the  period  of  con- 
ception and  early  infancy.  In  the  presence  of  faithful  witnesses, 
the  prophet  writes  on  a  great  tablet  ominous  words.  He  then 
begets  a  son,  named  at  birth  with  the  words  that  his  father  wrote, 
Maher-shalal-hash-baz  —  Spoil-speedeth-prey-hasteth.  Before 
this  child  shall  be  able  to  utter  his  first  "abi"  and  "immi,"1 
Assyria  shall  carry  away  the  relics  of  Damascus  and  the  spoil  of 
Samaria.  A  moment  later,  hi  an  exalted  outcry,  the  prophet 
speaks  of  "Thy  land,  O  Immanuel."  The  prophecies  of  the 
two  children,  with  name  of  doom  and  name  of  hope,  are  strangely 
inwoven  and  strangely  similar.  Possibly  it  is  one  child  only,  whose 
birth  and  infancy  mark  the  period  of  delay  of  doom  for  the  present 
enemies  and  of  God's  manifestation  of  his  presence  with  Judah. 

The  section  which  began  (7 lfL)  with  simple  narrative  hi  the 
third  person  closes  (89-97)  with  rhapsodical  promises  for  the 
future,  when  Jehovah  shall  be  an  inviolate  place  of  refuge  for 
those  who  fear  him,  but  a  stumbling-stone  and  snare  for  the 
others  of  his  people,  when  there  shall  be  a  ruler  on  David's  throne 
called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father, 
Prince  of  Peace.  The  child  of  the  closing  vision  whose  rule  is 
thus  described  can  hardly  be,  it  would  seem,  the  one  to  be  born 
in  Ahaz's  day  as  a  sign  to  make  that  king  yield  practical  trust 
to  Jehovah.  The  prediction  of  a  child  named  God-with-us  has 
carried  the  prophet  on  eagle  wings. 

1  "  My  father,"  "  my  mother." 


152  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  oracle  of  doom  on  Damascus  and  Ephraim  that  forms 
verses  1-11  of  chapter  17  must  be  assigned  to  the  same  era  as  the 
prophecies  just  considered.  It  is  an  example  of  the  more  direct 
form  of  prophetic  address,  in  which  Isaiah's  characteristic  thought 
that  Jehovah's  judgment  shall  not  absolutely  destroy  his  people 
is  applied  to  Israel  as  well  as  Judah. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  the  glory  of  Jacob  shall  be 
made  thin,  and  the  fatness  of  his  flesh  shall  wax  lean.  And  it  shall  be  as 
when  the  harvestman  gathereth  the  'standing  grain,  and  his  arm  reapeth 
the  ears ;  yea,  it  shall  be  as  when  one  gleaneth  ears  in  the  valley  of  Reph- 
aim.  Yet  there  shall  be  left  therein  gleanings,  as  the  shaking  of  an  olive- 
tree,  two  or  three  berries  in  the  top  of  the  uppermost  bough,  four  or  five  in 
the  outmost  branches  of  a  fruitful  tree,  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel. 1 

Ahaz  was  unmoved  by  all  Isaiah's  threats,  promises,  and  plead- 
ings. In  his  stubborn  weakness  he  sent  messengers. 

So  Ahaz  sent  messengers  to  Tiglath-pileser  king  of  Assyria,  saying,  I 
am  thy  servant  and  thy  son :  come  up,  and  save  me  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  king  of  Syria,  and  out  of  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Israel,  who  rise  up 
against  me.  And  Ahaz  took  the  silver  and  gold  that  was  found  in  the 
house  of  Jehovah,  and  in  the  treasures  of  the  king's  house,  and  sent  it 
for  a  present  to  the  king  of  Assyria.  And  the  king  of  Assyria  hearkened 
unto  him ;  and  the  king  of  Assyria  went  up  against  Damascus,  and  took 
it,  and  carried  the  people  of  it  captive  to  Kir,  and  slew  Rezin. 

And  king  Ahaz  went  to  Damascus  to  meet  Tiglath-pileser  king  of  Assyria, 
and  saw  the  altar  that  was  at  Damascus ;  and  king  Ahaz  sent  to  Urijah 
the  priest  the  fashion  of  the  altar,  and  the  pattern  of  it,  according  to  all 
the  workmanship  thereof.  And  Urijah  the  priest  built  an  altar :  accord- 
ing to  all  that  king  Ahaz  had  sent  from  Damascus,  so  did  Urijah  the 
priest  make  it  against  the  coming  of  king  Ahaz  from  Damascus.  And 
when  the  king  was  come  from  Damascus,  the  king  saw  the  altar :  and  the 
king  drew  near  unto  the  altar,  and  offered  thereon.  And  he  burnt  his 
burnt-offering  and  his  meal-offering,  and  poured  his  drink-offering,  and 
sprinkled  the  blood  of  his  peace-offerings,  upon  the  altar. 

******** 

And  king  Ahaz  cut  off  the  panels  of  the  bases,  and  removed  the  laver 
from  off  them,  and  took  down  the  sea  from  off  the  brazen  oxen  that  were 
under  it,  and  put  it  upon  a  pavement  of  stone.  And  the  covered  way 
for  the  sabbath  that  they  had  built  in  the  house,  and  the  king's  entry 

I  17  4-6. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     153 

without,  turned  he  unto  the  house  of  Jehovah,  because  of  the  king  of 
Assyria.1 

Such  were  some  of  the  immediate  internal  effects  upon  Judah  of 
Ahaz's  conduct.  Upon  Israel,  the  effects  were  more  obviously  dis- 
astrous. The  summary  statement  of  2  Kings  15  M  is  impressive :  — 

In  the  days  of  Pekah  king  of  Israel  came  Tiglath-pileser  king  of  Assyria, 
and  took  Ijon,  and  Abel-beth-maacah,  and  Janoah,  and  Kedesh,  and 
Hazor,  and  Gilead,  and  Galilee,  all  the  land  of  Naphtali ;  and  he  carried 
them  captive  to  Assyria. 

The  latter  part  of  Isaiah  9  may  belong  to  this  time ;  it  pictures 
vividly  the  fact  that  not  even  the  reduction  of  Israel's  territory  to 
the  mere  hill  country  of  Ephraim  can  destroy  the  ill-founded  con- 
fidence of  the  people  and  lead  them  to  turn  to  Jehovah,  recogniz- 
ing that  it  is  really  he  who  has  smitten. 

The  Lord  sent  a  word  into  Jacob,  and  it  hath  lighted  upon  Israel. 
And  all  the  people  shall  know,  even  Ephraim  and  the  inhabitant  of 
Samaria,  that  say  in  pride  and  in  stoutness  of  heart,  The  bricks  are  fallen, 
but  we  will  build  with  hewn  stone ;  the  sycomores  are  cut  down,  but  we 
will  put  cedars  in  their  place.  Therefore  Jehovah  will  set  up  on  high 
against  him  the  adversaries  of  Rezin,  and  will  stir  up  his  enemies,  the 
Syrians  before,  and  the  Philistines  behind ;  and  they  shall  devour  Israel 
with  open  mouth.  For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away,  but  his  hand 
is  stretched  out  still. 

Yet  the  people  have  not  turned  unto  him  that  smote  them,  neither 
have  they  sought  Jehovah  of  hosts.2 

Later,  we  shall  see  Isaiah  definitely  declaring  to  Judah  that 
Assyria  is  the  rod  of  Jehovah's  anger. 

The  opening  verses  of  chapter  28  picture  again  the  blind  folly 
of  the  men  of  Ephraim.  Whether  the  prophet  means  to  represent 
them  as  actually  besotted  with  liquor  and  so  unable  to  understand 
the  terrible  dangers  threatening  or  whether  drunkenness  is  but  a 
figure  to  express  their  maudlin  exaltation,  the  picture  is  a  terrible 
one  when 

even  these  reel  with  wine,  and  stagger  with  strong  drink ;  the  priest  and 
the  prophet  reel  with  strong  drink,  they  are  swallowed  up  of  wine,  they 
stagger  with  strong  drink ;  they  err  in  vision,  they  stumble  in  judgment. 
For  all  tables  are  full  of  vomit  and  filthiness,  so  that  there  is  no  place  clean. 

1 2  Bongs  16  7-1J-  17-18.  *  9  *-1J. 


154  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

In  their  stupid  assurance,  the  people  object  to  being  taught  like 
weaned  children,  "precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  here  a 
little,  there  a  little."  In  towering  indignation,  the  prophet  promises 
them  Jehovah's  precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  from  strange 
lips,  and  with  another  tongue.  As  he  goes  on,  Judah  and  its  rulers 
seem  to  be  central  in  his  thought.  Either  an  earlier  prophecy 
uttered  against  Samaria  before  its  final  downfall  is  inwoven  with 
later  warning  and  promises  to  Judah  or  the  whole  was  written 
before  721,  and  the  prophet,  starting  with  lament  over  the  blind 
folly  of  Samaria,  passes  on  to  similar  errors  in  the  rulers  of  his  own 
people. 

From  the  picture  of  drunken  self-confidence,  the  prophecy  goes 
on  with  the  figure  of  a  flood  or  scourge  passing  through  Judah. 
As  the  Hebrew  text  stands,  and  the  English  versions  translate, 
Isaiah  is  made  guilty  of  a  strangely  mixed  figure,  an  "overflowing 
scourge"  !  Did  Isaiah,  who  would  change  the  figure  every  few 
lines,  without  confusing  himself  or  his  reader,  perpetrate,  in  a 
figure  carried  through  a  passage  of  three  hundred  words,  the 
"overflowing  whip"?  The  two  words,  shdt  shdteph  (a  scourge 
overflowing),  are  so  nearly  alike  that  a  slight  change  in  either 
will  make  it  of  essentially  the  same  root  meaning  as  the  other. 
We  may  with  some  of  the  early  versions  read  an  overflowing,  or 
rushing,  flood,  or  we  may  follow  the  emendation  of  others  and  read 
a  scourge  moving  eagerly  or  quickly.1  Neither  emendation  is  more 
difficult  than  those  the  student  is  forced  constantly  to  make  in  the 
text  that  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  earliest  Hebrew  manuscripts, 
already  copied  and  recopied  for  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years 
after  Isaiah  wrote.  As  a  matter  of  purely  literary  judgment,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  Israel's  ancient  master  of  figurative 
speech  was  guilty  of  this  solecism. 

In  verse  20,  we  pass  without  warning  from  the  rushing  flood  to 
one  of  the  homeliest  and  most  intensely  expressive  figures  in  Isaiah's 

1  See  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.  Dillmann  notes  that  shot  shoteph  gives  a 
paronomasia.  Whether  he  thinks  that  this  accounts  for  the  mixed  figure 
is  not  clear.  Isaiah,  Handbuch  z.  A.  T.,  p.  255.  Kent  suggests  that  it  is 
the  scornful  reference  of  the  people  to  the  figure  of  an  overwhelming 
flood  which  Isaiah  frequently  uses.  Sermons,  Epistles  and  Apocalypses 
of  Israel's  Prophets,  p.  128. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     155 

writings.  It  may  be  just  a  current  proverb  that  Isaiah  throws  in 
—  For  the  bed  is  shorter  than  that  a  man  can  stretch  himself  on 
it ;  and  the  covering  narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap  himself  in 
it.  If  Isaiah  originated  this,  he  created  a  word  that  might  well 
have  become  proverbial.  Can  one  recall  any  proverb  which  more 
effectively  pictures  a  vexingly  intolerable  situation  ?  The  chapter 
closes  with  a  parable  much  in  the  spirit  and  tone  of  some  of  the 
quaint  poems  on  manners  found  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  very 
different  from  the  usual  speech  of  the  prophets. 

Give  ye  ear,  and  hear  my  voice ;  hearken,  and  hear  my  speech.  Doth 
he  that  ploweth  to  sow  plow  continually  ?  doth  he  continually  open  and 
harrow  his  ground  ?  When  he  hath  levelled  the  face  thereof,  doth  he  not 
cast  abroad  the  fitches,  and  scatter  the  cummin,  and  put  in  the  wheat  in 
rows,  and  the  barley  in  the  appointed  place,  and  the  spelt  in  the  border 
thereof?  For  his  God  doth  instruct  him  aright,  and  doth  teach  him. 
For  the  fitches  are  not  threshed  with  a  sharp  threshing  instrument,  neither 
is  a  cart  wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin ;  but  the  fitches  are  beaten 
out  with  a  staff,  and  the  cummin  with  a  rod.  Bread  grain  is  ground ;  for 
he  will  not  be  always  threshing  it :  and  though  the  wheel  of  his  cart  and  his 
horses  scatter  it,  he  doth  not  grind  it.  This  also  cometh  forth  from 
Jehovah  of  hosts,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  wisdom.1 

Chapter  20  brings  us  down  to  a  time  more  than  twenty-five  years 
after  the  opening  of  Isaiah's  ministry,  to  the  year  of  an  Assyrian 
expedition  against  Philistia,  when  Judea  as  Assyrian  vassal  seems  to 
have  escaped  any  serious  consequences  from  the  proximity  of  the 
Assyrian  army,  but  when  Isaiah  evidently  knew  that  his  people 
were  in  danger  of  compromising  intrigue  with  the  Ethiopian  dy- 
nasty, now  on  the  throne  of  Egypt.  The  brief  narrative  tells 
how  Isaiah  went  about  the  streets  stripped  of  his  outer  garment 
and  barefoot  like  a  captive,  as  a  sign  of  Egypt's  coming  conquest 
by  Assyria.  This  suggests  another  of  the  prophet's  varied  methods 
of  enforcing  his  lessons,  symbolic  action.  With  all  his  rhetorical 
and  poetic  gifts,  Isaiah  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  this  striking 
device  in  order  to  enforce  his  lesson  upon  the  people. 

This  prophecy  introduces  us  to  an  international  situation  that 
later  largely  shaped  Isaiah's  activity.  More  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before,  Hosea  had  pictured  Israel  as  a  silly  dove  looking 

1  28  23-29^ 


156  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

now  to  Egypt  and  now  to  Assyria  for  help;  ten  years  more  and 
Judah's  foolish  cooing  to  Egypt  will  bring  an  Assyrian  army  to  her 
gates.  The  coming  of  the  Assyrians  in  the  campaign  of  701  against 
Palestine  and  Egypt  is  indeed  the  next  great  event,  or  series  of 
events,  about  which  Isaiah's  prophecies  group  themselves.  Isaiah 
had  been  unable  to  convince  the  nation  that  trust  in  Egypt  against 
Assyria  was  hopeless.  Some  doubtless  followed  the  prophet, 
trusting  his  clear  vision  of  the  national  destinies  of  Assyria  and 
Egypt,  but  there  was  a  strong  party  in  Jerusalem  which  favored 
throwing  off  Assyrian  vassalage  in  reliance  on  Egypt. 

At  this  era,  Palestine  was  feeling  the  force  of  her  peculiar  posi- 
tion as  the  buffer  between  two  ancient  seats  of  power,  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  valley  and  the  Nile  valley.  Assyria  had  been  for  years 
at  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and  her  ambition  was  not  yet  sated. 
Egypt's  policy  was  to  foment  rebellion  among  the  tributary  states 
of  Syria  which  lay  between  her  and  the  centre  of  Assyrian  power. 
As  the  prophets  saw  matters,  both  Northern  Israel  and  Judah 
needed  a  consistent  national  policy.  Isaiah,  early  in  his  ministry, 
had  tried  to  keep  Ahaz  from  seeking  closer  dependence  upon 
Assyria;  that  vassalage  once  assumed,  he  saw  the  madness  of 
breaking  it  in  reliance  upon  Egyptian  help.  Perhaps  it  was  in  no 
small  measure  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Assyrian  was  having  trouble 
on  his  southern  borders  with  his  Babylonian  vassal  that  the  Egyp- 
tian party  was  at  length  able  to  have  its  way  in  Judah.  The 
deposed  king  of  Babylon  even  sent  an  embassy  to  Judea;  he 
was  doubtless  seeking  to  stir  up  revolt  in  the  west  so  that  his  own 
chance  of  successful  rebellion  might  be  improved.  At  any  rate, 
Judah  became  utterly  compromised  against  her  overlord,  and  the 
terrible  Assyrian  army  that  had  destroyed  her  sister,  twenty 
years  before,  was  threatening  her  in  701. 

A  large  number  of  Isaiah's  prophecies  connect  themselves  with 
this  crisis.  Those  contained  in  chapters  29-32  may  be  regarded 
as  a  group  all  dating  from  the  year  before  the  invasion.  Possibly 
this  group  begins  at  28  7  (the  chapter  division  is  late)  and  only 
the  first  six  verses  belong  to  the  time  before  the  fall  of  Samaria, 
where  we  considered  the  entire  chapter.  The  thought  of  28  7fl 
is  very  similar  to  that  of  29. 

The  latter  chapter  opens  with  a  lament  over  Jerusalem  which 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE     157 

Jehovah  is  to  besiege  and  bring  to  great  distress,  and  then  to 
deliver.  The  hearers  are  blind  to  what  is  coining;  all  vision 
is  to  them  as  a  sealed  book  or  written  characters  to  a  man  who 
cannot  read.  Here  we  see  that  which  appears  hi  the  description 
of  the  inaugural  vision  —  the  prophet  forced  to  talk  to  those  who 
have  a  fat  heart,  heavy  ears,  and  shut  eyes.  They  hear,  but  under- 
stand not;  they  see,  but  perceive  not;  with  the  mouth  they 
honor  Jehovah,  but  their  heart  is  far  removed  from  him.  The 
next  chapter  shows  wherein  their  alienation  is  especially  evident ; 
they  are  rebellious  children  in  that  they  go  down  to  Egypt  for 
help.  Chapter  31  also  pronounces  woe  upon  those  who  go  down 
to  Egypt,  who  trust  in  horses  and  chariots,  but  look  not  unto  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel.  Through  threat  and  promise  in  swift  alterna- 
tion, Isaiah  seeks  to  convince  the  blinded  people  that  Jehovah, 
not  Egypt,  can  help  them. 

To  the  prophet's  mind,  the  policy  adopted  means  wasting  of  the 
land  and  siege  of  the  city  by  the  Assyrians ;  yet  he  constantly  holds 
out  hope  of  ultimate  victory  over  Assyria.  The  heroic  stature  of 
Isaiah's  personality  is  herein  revealed.  Though  the  party  which 
seemed  to  him  utterly  wicked  and  foolish  is  having  its  own  way  and 
leading  his  people  into  the  greatest  peril  that  it  has  yet  faced,  he 
still  believes  that  Jehovah  will  deliver. 

In  a  passage  of  uncertain  date,  it  may  have  been  uttered  in 
connection  with  the  crisis  of  701,  we  have  an  even  more  striking 
example  of  the  prophet's  catholic  outlook.  Assyria,  the  dreaded 
overlord,  and  Egypt,  the  would-be  ally,  luring  Judah  to  her  ruin, 
are  to  be  in  peaceful  intercourse,  with  Israel  a  blessing  in  the 
midst.  To  some  it  seems  impossible  that  Isaiah,  with  his  attitude 
toward  Assyria  and  Egypt  and  in  the  international  situation  of 
his  day  could  have  pictured  such  a  consummation. 

In  that  day  shall  there  be  an  altar  to  Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  a  pillar  at  the  border  thereof  to  Jehovah.  And  it  shall  be 
for  a  sign  and  for  a  witness  unto  Jehovah  of  hosts  in  the  land  of  Egypt; 
for  they  shall  cry  unto  Jehovah  because  of  oppressors,  and  he  will  send 
them  a  saviour,  and  a  defender,  and  he  will  deliver  them.  And  Jehovah 
shall  be  known  to  Egypt,  and  the  Egyptians  shall  know  Jehovah  in  that 
day;  yea,  they  shall  worship  with  sacrifice  and  oblation,  and  shall  vow 
a  vow  unto  Jehovah,  and  shall  perform  it.  And  Jehovah  will  smite  Egypt, 


158  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

smiting  and  healing ;  and  they  shall  return  unto  Johovah,  and  he  will  be 
entreated  of  them,  and  will  heal  them. 

In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  highway  out  of  Egypt  to  Assyria,  and 
the  Assyrian  shall  come  into  Egypt,  and  the  Egyptian  into  Assyria; 
and  the  Egyptians  shall  worship  with  the  Assyrians. 

In  that  day  shall  Israel  be  the  third  with  Egypt  and  with  Assyria, 
a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  earth;  for  that  Jehovah  of  hosts  hath 
blessed  them,  saying,  Blessed  be  Egypt  my  people,  and  Assyria  the 
work  of  my  hands,  and  Israel  mine  inheritance.1 

In  the  terrible  crisis  of  701,  the  addresses  of  Isaiah  sho,w  all  the 
resources  of  his  poetry  and  rhetoric.  The  weird  lament,  Hoy, 
is  sounded  again  and  again,  for  the  city  of  David,  for  those  who 
seek  deep  to  hide  their  counsel  from  Jehovah,  for  the  rebellious 
children,  and  for  those  who  seek  help  from  Egypt.  The  poet's 
imagination  adds  figure  to  figure,  picture  to  picture,  to  catch  the 
dull  eyes  of  those  who  see  but  perceive  not.  The  orator's  irony 
holds  up  to  the  scorn  of  generations  to  come  those  who  say  to  their 
seers,  "See  not,"  and  to  the  prophets,  "Prophesy  not  unto  us 
right  things;  speak  unto  us  smooth  things;  prophesy  deceits." 
Then,  in  the  majesty  of  the  spokesman  of  Israel's  Holy  One,  he 
announces  a  shattering  like  the  breaking  of  a  potter's  vessel.  From 
fierce  mood,  he  passes  quickly  to  gentle  pleading;  and  therefore 
will  the  Lord  wait,  that  he  may  be  gracious  upon  you,  and  there- 
fore will  he  be  exalted  that  he  may  have  mercy  upon  you.  .  .  . 
He  will  be  very  gracious  unto  thee  at  the  voice  of  thy  cry ;  when  he 
shall  hear  it,  he  will  answer  thee. 

Sometimes  the  figures  follow  in  such  quick  succession,  as  in 
30  28,  that  we  may,  perhaps,  call  them  a  little  mixed,  though  there 
is  nothing  like  an  overflowing  whip.  Elsewhere  they  are  exceed- 
ingly effective.  Such  are  the  pictures  of  the  besiegers  disappointed 
like  a  hungry  man  who  dreams  that  he  eats,2  the  lion  over  his  prey 
growling  defiance  to  the  shepherds,3  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock 
in  a  weary  land.4 

The  section  10  B-ll 9  probably  comes  a  little  later,  when  the 

Assyrian  army  is  already  advancing  and  even  the  Egyptian  party 

must  see  the   impending  danger.     An  important  thing  to  note 

in  this  section  is  Isaiah's  clear  theory  of  God's  government  in  the 

1  Isaiah  19  1!«6.  =  29  8.  8  31  4.  4  32  2. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE      159 

movements  of  the  nations.  The  theory,  as  seen  in  the  particular 
situation,  is  this  —  Here  is  mighty  Assyria  (one  of  the  most  brutal, 
conquering  nations  known  in  history)  which  has  laid  waste  all 
the  great  cities  from  the  borders  of  Mesopotamia  to  Samaria, 
coming  on  toward  Judah  to  carry  out  its  own  cruel  purposes.1 
In  reality  this  self-confident  nation  is  just  a  rod  in  Jehovah's 
hand  to  punish  Judah.  When  God  has  used  the  Assyrian's  ambi- 
tion for  this  purpose,  he  will  punish  him  who  has  thought  himself 
to  be  acting  in  his  own  strength  and  wisdom  while  he  was  gratify- 
ing his  own  cruel  rapacity. 

A  very  striking  passage  is  that  beginning  at  10  28.  The  Assyrian 
army  is  advancing  along  the  summit  of  the  central  range  of 
Palestine.  From  the  territory  which  had  belonged  to  Northern 
Israel,  over  the  natural  boundary  at  Michmash,  where  the  steep- 
sided  cross-valley  cuts  the  road,  they  come  on  toward  Jerusalem. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  little  towns  north  of  the  city  flee  hi  terror 
and  the  striding  giant  stands  just  north  of  the  city,  shaking  his 
threatening  arm  at  the  hill  of  Jerusalem. 

He  is  come  to  Aiath,  he  is  passed  through  Migron;  at  Michmash  he 
layeth  up  his  baggage;  they  are  gone  over  the  pass;  they  have  taken 
up  their  lodging  at  Geba;  Ramah  trembleth;  Gibeah  of  Saul  is  fled. 
Cry  aloud  with  thy  voice,  0  daughter  of  Gallim !  hearken,  0  Laishah ! 
0  thou  poor  Anathoth!  Madmenah  is  a  fugitive;  the  inhabitants  of 
Gebim  flee  for  safety.  This  very  day  shall  he  halt  at  Nob :  he  shaketh 
his  hand  at  the  mount  of  the  daughter  of  Zion,  the  hill  of  Jerusalem. 

Behold,  the  Lord,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  will  lop  the  boughs  with  terror : 
and  the  high  of  stature  shall  be  hewn  down,  and  the  lofty  shall  be  brought 
low.  And  he  will  cut  down  the  thickets  of  the  forest  with  iron,  and 
Lebanon  shall  fall  by  a  mighty  one. 

When  Sennacherib  really  came,  his  advance  was  the  usual  one 
down  along  the  coast  plain.  With  Judea  hi  alliance  with  Egypt, 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  off  all  possibility  of  aid  from  that  quarter 
before  undertaking  the  siege  of  the  mountain  stronghold,  and  be- 
sides, Egypt  was  the  really  important  enemy ;  little  Judea  could 
well  be  left  for  later  consideration.  In  Isaiah's  wonderfully  vivid 
description  of  the  Assyrian  advance  concrete,  imaginative  picturing 
is  carried  to  its  extreme.  The  vivid  description  is  really  given  for 

1 10  *-". 


160  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

the  sake  of  what  follows,  the  promise  of  Jehovah's  sure  deliverance. 
When  the  danger  actually  came,  it  was  hardly  less  immediate  and 
the  deliverance  was  no  less  dramatic  than  in  the  imaginative  picture 
painted  in  advance. 

From  the  present  danger  and  promised  deliverance,  the  prophecy 
passes  into  one  of  the  wonderful  Messianic  passages  of  this  book: — 

And  there  shall  come  forth  a  shoot  out  of  the  stock  of  Jesse,  and  a 
branch  out  of  his  roots  shall  bear  fruit.  And  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  shall 
rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel 
and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  Jehovah.  And  his 
delight  shall  be  in  the  fear  of  Jehovah;  and  he  shall  not  judge  after  the 
sight  of  his  eyes,  neither  decide  after  the  hearing  of  his  ears;  but  with 
righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor,  and  decide  with  equity  for  the  meek 
of  the  earth;  and  he  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth; 
and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  And  righteous- 
ness shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  waist,  and  faithfulness  the  girdle  of  his  loins. 

And  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down 
with  the  kid ;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  f atling  together ; 
and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed ; 
their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  together;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw 
like  the  ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and 
the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  adder's  den.  They  shall  not 
hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of 
the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.1 

With  the  earlier  part  of  the  general  section  just  considered  we 
may  connect  the  effective  bit  in  14  24~27. 

Jehovah  of  hosts  hath  sworn,  saying,  Surely,  as  I  have  thought,  so 
shall  it  come  to  pass;  and  as  I  have  purposed,  so  shall  it  stand :  that  I 
will  break  the  Assyrian  in  my  land,  and  upon  my  mountains  tread  him 
under  foot:  then  shall  his  yoke  depart  from  off  them,  and  his  burden 
depart  from  off  their  shoulder.  This  is  the  purpose  that  is  purposed 
upon  the  whole  earth ;  and  this  is  the  hand  that  is  stretched  out  upon  all 
the  nations.  For  Jehovah  of  hosts  hath  purposed,  and  who  shall  annul 
it  ?  and  his  hand  is  stretched  out,  and  who  shall  turn  it  back  ? 

This  is  one  of  several  similar,  short  oracles,  of  which  Isaiah  seems 
to  have  uttered  very  many.  One  of  the  finest  of  these  may  per- 
haps come  from  this  period. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  JUDEAN  PROPHETIC  LITERATURE        161 

Ah,  the  uproar  of  many  peoples,  that  roar  like  the  roaring  of  the  seas ; 
and  the  rushing  of  nations,  that  rush  like  the  rushing  of  mighty  waters ! 
The  nations  shall  rush  like  the  rushing  of  many  waters:  but  he  shall 
rebuke  them,  and  they  shall  flee  far  off,  and  shall  be  chased  as  the  chaff  of 
the  mountains  before  the  wind,  and  like  the  whirling  dust  before  the 
storm.  At  eventide,  behold,  terror;  and  before  the  morning  they  are 
not.  This  is  the  portion  of  them  that  despoil  us,  and  the  lot  of  them 
that  rob  us. 

The  translation  does  remarkably  well  in  preserving  something 
of  the  sound  effect  of  the  original.  As  one  reads  of  the  rushing  of 
nations,  that  rush  like  the  rushing  of  mighty  waters  (usheon 
leummim  kisheon  mayim  kabbirim  yishsha'un),  one  recalls  Homer's 
favorite  poluphloisboio  thalasses,  loud-roaring  sea,  in  which  we 
hear  so  marvellously  the  boom  of  the  breaker  followed  by  the  swish- 
ing rush  of  the  water  on  the  beach.1  Homer  was  fond  of  onomato- 
poetic  lines,  and  Isaiah,  too,  knew  how  to  suit  the  sound  to  the 
thought.  The  very  repetition  of  the  same  sound  and  even  the 
same  word,  which  would  be  so  offensive  were  it  undertaken  by 
any  one  other  than  one  of  the  world's  masters  of  words,  gives  us 
the  full  impression  of  the  terrible,  swift  advance  of  great  armies. 

With  Jehovah's  rebuke  the  figure  changes  to  express  the  change 
in  that  figured.  The  armies  are  no  longer  rushing  masses,  like 
mighty  waters,  but  multitudes  of  driven  individuals,  like  chaff 
before  the  wind  of  the  mountain  threshing  floor,  like  dust  before 
the  storm-wind.  No  longer  have  we  the  uproar  of  many  peoples 
(hamon  ammim  rabbim),  but  the  chaff  before  the  wind  and  the 
whirl  of  dust  before  the  storm-wind  (mots  liphne-ruach  and  galgal 
liphne  supha).  Then  the  whole  fate  of  the  scattered  army  is 
summed  up :  — 

At  eventime,  and  behold  terror ! 
Not  yet  morning ;  they  are  not.2 

Isaiah's  power  of  emotional  suggestion  is  exemplified  also  in 
his  prophecy  concerning  the  Ethiopian  embassy:  — 

1  E.g.  Iliad  A  34. 

ftfj  8a.Keaiv  irapa.  ffiva  iro\v<f>\ol(rf3oio  6a\d<r<riit, 

She  went  in  silence  along  the  shore  of  the  loud  roaring  sea. 

2  Seeking  to  give  the  terse  effect  of  the  Hebrew  by  a  slavishly  literal 
translation. 

u 


162  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Hoy,  land  of  whirring  wings, 
Which  is  beyond  the  rivers  of  Gush ; 
That  sendeth  envoys  by  the  sea, 
In  vessels  of  reed  upon  waters. 

The  creepy  effect  of  the  opening  mourners'  cry  is  heightened  by 
the  description  of  the  far  distant  land  where  the  air  is  resonant 
with  the  superabundant  insect  life  of  the  tropics.  It  suggests 
lonesome,  dank,  impenetrable  regions. 

Literary  qualities  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  prophecies 
just  considered  are  seen  also  in  the  "  burden  of  the  valley  of  vision," * 
the  exact  occasion  of  which  is  uncertain.  The  picturing  of  the 
tumult  in  the  city,  of  the  prophet's  anguish ;  of  the  breaches  in  the 
wall  with  the  houses  torn  down  to  repair  the  holes,  of  the  mad 
revelry  of  the  people  —  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,"  they  say,  "for 
to-morrow  we  shall  die" — is  all  in  Isaiah's  style,  as  is  also  the 
sudden  contrast  at  the  close  —  Surely  this  iniquity  shall  not  be 
purged  from  you  till  ye  die,  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah  of  hosts. 

As  a  matter  of  sober  history,  Sennacherib  suddenly  withdrew 
from  Palestine  and  Jerusalem  was  spared,  though  not  through  aid 
of  Egypt.  Whatever  the  immediate  cause,  Isaiah's  faith  was 
vindicated  and  the  prestige  of  Jerusalem  as  Jehovah's  unconquer- 
able dwelling  place  was  greatly  enhanced.  Isaiah's  fame  too  was 
established,  and  many  later  prophecies  were  added  to  the  rather 
fragmentary  literary  remains  of  his  long  and  eventful  ministry. 
Such,  for  example,  are  the  dooms  pronounced  upon  Babylon,  the 
oppressing  city,  given  in  chapters  13  and  14.  They  would  have 
been  meaningless  to  the  contemporaries  of  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz. 

All  of  Isaiah's  genuine  prophecies  are  to  be  found  in  chapters 
1-35  of  the  book  bearing  the  prophet's  name.  To  this  collection 
of  prophecies,  most  of  which  were  written  or  spoken  by  'Isaiah, 
was  added  a  narrative  section  in  which  Isaiah  figures  prominently, 
chapters  36-39.  These  narratives  are  found  almost  in  duplicate 
in  2  Kings  18  13-20  19.  This  was  probably  material  preserved 
among  the  disciples  of  Isaiah,  much  as  the  narratives  concerning 
Elijah  were  treasured  by  his  followers.2  The  noble  prophecies 
added  to  the  book  of  Isaiah  which  once  terminated  with  36-39 
will  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  later  ages  from  which 
they  emanate.3 

1 22  »-".  2  See  Chapter  VI.  »  Chapter  XIX. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MICAH   THE   LAST  OF   THE   EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS 

(About  722  to  680 f  B.C.) 

WHILE  Isaiah  was  active  in  the  affairs  of  state  in  Jerusalem, 
the  prophet  Micah  was  writing  or  speaking  in  the  borderland 
district  of  Judea,  near  the  Philistine  frontier.  He  is,  indeed, 
often  called  a  younger  contemporary  of  Isaiah. 

In  many  respects  Micah  suggests  the  man  Amos  who  also  lived 
in  the  rural  portion  of  Judea.  His  home,  Maresha,  was  at  the 
edge  of  the  foothills,  just  above  the  Philistine  plain,  not  much 
more  than  twenty  miles  to  the  westward  of  Amos's  home  at  Tekoa. 
From  Jerusalem  it  lay  about  twenty-seven  miles  distant,  toward 
the  southwest.1 

Although  Isaiah  had  attacked  those  who  were  dispossessing  the 
small  landowners,  his  vision  was  not  so  filled  with  the  economic 
problems  of  the  tunes  as  that  of  these  prophets  who  dwelt  among 
the  poor  peasants  and  better  understood  their  lot.  The  terribly 
expressive  figure  that  Micah  used  to  describe  the  cruel  oppression 
of  the  people  is  not  surpassed  by  any  of  Amos's  pictures. 

And  I  said,  Hear,  I  pray  you,  ye  heads  of  Jacob,  and  rulers  of  the  house 
of  Israel :  is  it  not  for  you  to  know  justice?  ye  who  hate  the  good,  and 
love  the  evil;  who  pluck  off  their  skin  from  off  them,  and  their  flesh 
from  off  their  bones ;  who  also  eat  the  flesh  of  my  people,  and  flay  their 
skin  from  off  them,  and  break  their  bones,  and  chop  them  in  pieces,  as 
for  the  pot,  and  as  flesh  within  the  caldron.1 

Amos  was  stirred  to  the  depths  of  his  nature  by  the  moral  obliquity 
of  a  people  who  could  say  that  Jehovah  was  with  them,  while  they 
trampled  upon  the  poor,3  and  Micah  was  no  less  deeply  moved  by 
the  sight  of  those  who  used  high  and  responsible  position  for 
mercenary  ends,  and  yet  leaned  upon  the  Lord,  saying,  "Is  not 

1  For  description  of  the  region,  see  Kent,  Biblical  Geography  and  His- 
tory, p.  186  f.  *  3  '-'.  » Amos  5  "-". 

163 


164  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  us,  no  evil  shall  come  upon  us.1  Such 
moral  perversity,  with  its  natural  accompaniment  of  hatred  and 
opposition  to  all  who  saw  and  taught  moral  truth,  greatly  roused 
both  these  teachers  of  elemental  righteousness.2 

Micah's  song  of  woe  to  the  land-monopolists  is  highly  suggestive 
of  Isaiah's.3 

Woe  to  those  who  devise  wrong  on  their  couch,4 

With  morning  light  they  perform  it, 

Since  'tis  in  their  power.   ' 

They  covet  fields  and  grasp, 

Yea  houses,  and  take  them  away. 

They  wrong  master  and  house, 

Yea,6  a  man  and  his  heritage.6 

Yet,  both  in  spirit  and  thought,  we  find  Micah  more  closely  kin- 
dred with  Amos  than  with  Isaiah.  Such  a  passage  as  this  might 
easily  have  been  written  by  Amos,  who  indignantly  repudiated 
the  insinuation  of  the  Bethel  priest  that  he  was  prophesying  as  a 
means  of  livelihood.  Both  the  insinuation  and  hot  denial  may  be 
more  fully  appreciated  after  noting  Micah's  picture  of  the  pro- 
fessional prophets  "that  make  my  people  to  err;  that  bite  with 
their  teeth,  and  cry,  Peace;  and  whoso  putteth  not  into  their 
mouths  they  even  prepare  war  against  him. " 7 

In  clear  moral  insight  into  the  conditions  of  their  times,  in  bold 
and  stern  denunciation  of  evil,  and  also  in  power  of  concrete 
picturing  and  the  use  of  homely,  effective  illustrations,  these 
two  champions  of  the  common  people  were  kindred  spirits. 
Though  Micah  may  have  been  familiar  with  the  teaching  of  his 
greater  predecessor,  he  was  no  mere  imitator;  his  thought  and 
his  style  were  his  own. 

In  one  passage  he  gives  one  of  the  most  remarkable  series  of 
plays  upon  names  •  hat  was  ever  devised.  It  is  one  of  the  instances 
in  which  we  see  that  the  Hebrew  punned  not  as  a  witty  exercise, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  making  his  thought  pierce  dull  ears.  Canon 
Farrar  has  thus  attempted  to  represent  it  in  English :  — 

1  Micah  3  «.       2  Amos  5  10,  Micah  2  6.       3  See  p.  146. 

«  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.     Note  in  loc.  B  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb.  in  loc. 

6  Micah  2  *•».  7  Micah  3  6. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS    165 

'In  Gath  (Tell-town)  tell  it  not; 

In  Akko  (Weep-town)  weep  not ! 

In  Beth-le-Aphrah  (Dust-town)  roll  thyself  in  dust. 

Pass  by,  thou  inhabitress  of  Shaphir  (Fair-town)  in  nakedness  and 
shame ! 

The  citizen  of  Zaanan  (March-town)  marched  not  forth. 

The  mourning  of  Bethezel  (Neighbour-town)  taketh  from  you  its  stand- 
ing-place. 

The  inhabitress  of  Maroth  (Bitter-town)  is  in  travail  about  good, 

Because  evil  hath  come  down  from  Jehovah  to  the  gate  of  Jerusalem. 

Bind  the  chariot  to  the  swift  horse,  thou  inhabitress  of  Lachish  (Horse- 
town)  ; 

She  was  the  beginning  of  sin  for  the  daughter  of  Zion, 

For  the  transgressions  of  Israel  were  found  in  thee. 

Therefore  wilt  thou  (Oh  Zion)  give  dismissal  (farewell  presents)  to  Mor- 
esheth-Gath  (The  Possession  of  Gath). 

The  houses  of  Achzib  (False-spring)  become  Achzab  (a  disappointing 
brook)  to  Israel's  kings. 

Yet  will  I  bring  the  heir  (namely,  Sargon,  king  of  Assyria)  to  thee,  thou 
citizen  of  Mareshah  (Heir-town). 

Unto  Adullam  (the  wild  beasts'  cave)  shall  the  glory  of  Israel  come ! 

Make  thyself  bald  (0  Zion)  for  the  children  of  thy  delight. 

Enlarge  thy  baldness  as  the  vulture, 

For  they  are  gone  into  captivity  from  thee. 1 

It  was  not  Micah's  lot  to  give  the  world  its  first  formulated 
statement  of  some  great,  epoch-making  truth,  as  Amos  and  Hosea 
did,  nor  to  awe  with  the  splendor  of  his  rhetoric  and  poetry  as 
Isaiah.  He  was  the  least  of  the  four  eighth-century  prophets, 
but  he  was  not  an  unworthy  member  of  that  glorious  company, 
even  though  he  gave  us  only  chapters  1  to  3  of  the  book  bearing 
his  name. 

In  regard  to  the  remainder  of  the  book,  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  chapters  4  and  5  are,  in  form  and  thought,  much  more  like 
the  Jewish  writings  of  a  later  age  than  those  of  the  eighth  or  even 
the  seventh  century  prophets.  They  were  probably  composed 
at  a  much  later  date.  It  is  generally  admitted  further,  that 
chapters  6  and  7  could  not  have  been  written  until  after  685  B.C., 
when  Manasseh  succeeded  Hezekiah.  They  reflect  a  time  when 

1  Farrar,  Minor  Prophets,  pp.  130-131. 


166  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

the  statutes  of  Omri  are  kept  and  all  the  works  of  the  house  of 
Ahab ; l  when  the  prince  asketh  for  a  reward ; 2  when  one  cannot 
trust  in  neighbor,  friend,  or  wife.3  All  the  sources  unite  in  repre- 
senting Hezekiah  as  obedient  to  the  divine  instruction  given  by 
the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Micah,  so  that  the  words  of  chapters  6 
and  7  seem  more  suitable  to  the  times  of  moral  and  religious 
reaction  introduced  by  Manasseh  than  to  any  of  the  later  years 
of  Hezekiah's  reign.  It  may  well  be,  however,  that  these  chapters, 
at  least  as  far  as  7  6,  were  written  by  Micah  before  Manasseh 
succeeded  in  drowning  the  voice  of  true  prophecy  with  the  stream 
of  martyr's  blood  that  he  caused  to  flow.4 

If  Micah  did  write  chapter  6,  he  is  to  be  credited  with  a  piece 
of  dramatic  dialogue  unsurpassed  in  prophetic  literature.  The 
writer  of  this  wonderful  bit  grasped  the  vital  part  of  the  message 
of  Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah,  and  formulated  it  into  a  well-nigh 
perfect  statement  of  human  duty :  What  doth  Jehovah  require 
of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God?5  Whoever  wrote  those  words  is  to  be  credited 
with  one  of  the  most  perfect,  diamond-like  utterances  ever  made. 
Hardly  a  word  could  be  added  and  none  could  be  taken  from  it. 
Mercy  without  justice  is  corrupting;  justice  without  mercy  is 
horrible ;  both  without  humility  are  detestable.  Can  one  match 
this  winged  word  in  any  literature  ?  We  think  only  and  inevitably 
of  the  supreme  insight  which  combined  the  commands  from  Deu- 
teronomy and  Leviticus  and  gave  the  whole  law  in  two  words 
that  were  one :  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  soul,  and  strength,  and  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself. 

The  opening  section  of  the  dramatic  dialogue  of  Micah  6  which 
culminates  at  verse  8  is  :  — 

Hear  ye  now  what  Jehovah  saith:  Arise,  contend  thou  before  the 
mountains,  and  let  the  hills  hear  thy  voice.  Hear,  0  ye  mountains, 
Jehovah's  controversy,  and  ye  enduring  foundations  of  the  earth;  for 
Jehovah  hath  a  controversy  with  his  people,  and  he  will  contend  with 
Israel.  0  my  people,  what  have  I  done  unto  thee  ?  and  wherein  have  I 

1  Micah  6  16.  *  Micah  7  ».  *  Micah  7  5. 

*  Kent  (Sermons,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  of  Israel's  Prophets,  p.  145  f .) 
thinks  that  chapter  6  may  be  as  early  as  701.  B  6  8. 


THE  LAST  OP  THE  EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS     167 

wearied  thee  ?  testify  against  me.  For  I  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  redeemed  thee  out  of  the  house  of  bondage;  and  I  sent 
before  thee  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Miriam.  O  my  people,  remember  now 
what  Balak  king  of  Moab  devised,  and  what  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  an- 
swered him ;  remember  from  Shittim  unto  Gilgal,  that  ye  may  know  the 
righteous  acts  of  Jehovah. 

Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  Jehovah,  and  bow  myself  before  the 
high  God  ?  shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings,  with  calves  a  year 
old  ?  will  Jehovah  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten  thou- 
sands of  rivers  of  oil  ?  shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my  transgression,  the 
fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?  He  hath  showed  thee,  0  man, 
what  is  good ;  and  what  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly 
and  to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ? 

The  first  verses  suggest  a  great  assize  with  the  everlasting  hills 
judges.  Canaan's  mountains  and  hills  were  ever  instinct  with  life 
to  the  ancient  Hebrew  prophet  and  poet.  The  fancy  of  the  Greek 
peopled  every  grove  and  cave  with  nymph  and  satyr,  and  every 
majestic  object  in  nature  with  its  god  or  gods.  Such  fancies 
filled  the  world  with  fascinating  mystery  and  poetry;  we  enter 
into  the  delight  as  we  may  do  playfully  into  the  imaginations  of  a 
child,  but  after  all,  it's  a  child's  life  and  not  ours,  and  we  soon  put 
it  off  for  maturer  things. 

The  personifying  of  the  great  objects  of  nature  to  which  the 
Hebrew  prophet  and  poet  invite  is  something  larger  and  more 
mature.  His  loftier  religious  thought  kept  the  fancy  of  Israel's 
poet  within  bounds.  This  distinguished  him  from  other  Semites 
as  well  as  from  men  of  different  race.  His  cousin,  the  bedouin 
Arab  of  the  desert,  even  down  to  the  present  day  when  he  is  sup- 
posed to  worship  only  Allah,  has  ever  peopled  all  things  with  spirits 
innumerable.  His  other  cousins,  the  wonderfully  civilized  peo- 
ple of  Babylonia,  let  their  fancy  run  riot  in  picturing  Tiamat, 
black  chaos,  mother  of  horrible  brood,  or  the  demon  of  the  north- 
west wind  with  his  hard-cut,  sharp  features  and  wicked  grin,  or 
their  whole  pantheon  of  gods  of  sun  and  moon,  of  air  and  water, 
of  this  place  and  that  place.  The  fervid  imagination  of  Hebrew 
prophet  and  poet,  though  it  did  not  always  confine  itself  to  our 
standards  of  unity  ran  no  such  riot. 

As  the  Hebrew  prophets  were  gradually  learning  to  think  of 


168  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

one  God,  spirit  unpicturable,  over  all,  through  all,  and  in  all, 
such  childlike  fancies  as  those  of  Greek  and  Babylonian  were  early 
outgrown ;  yet  nature  did  not  become  to  them  a  prose  waste  of 
blind  law.  The  mountains,  winds,  water,  and  stars  above  were 
not  gods,  not  peopled  with  gods  or  demigods ;  they  were  living 
realities,  now  rejoicing  or  trembling  at  the  presence  of  the  Almighty, 
now  doing  his  will  in  beneficent  purpose  toward  his  children; 
now  listening  as  majestic  court  while  God  himself  deigns  to  plead 
his  cause  against  his  recreant  people. 

Is  it  fanciful  to  count  the  Hebrew  poets,  in  their  treatment  of 
nature,  far  nearer  to  the  poets  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the 
philosophers  of  the  twentieth  than  were  those  of  other  ancient 
peoples  ?  To  Wordsworth  and  Tennyson  nature  is  not  peopled 
with  spirits  but  is  itself  living,  and  the  life  in  it  all  is  the  life  of 
God.  Our  philosophy  to-day  tends  to  find  one  principle  of  life 
in  all  things  visible  and  thinkable.  If  it  finds  God  at  all,  it  finds 
him  not  distinct  from  nature,  but  immanent  in  all.  So  it  comes 
about  that  even  in  this  machine-made,  science-swept-and-garnished 
age  of  ours  we  can  without  too  much  effort  enter  into  the  fancy  of 
the  poet  as  he  writes :  Arise,  contend  thou  before  the  mountains, 
and  let  the  hills  hear  thy  voice. 

The  poet  does  not  describe  the  outward  appearance  of  God 
who  comes  to  plead  with  his  people,  but  he  ventures  to  represent 
him  speaking  in  his  own  person  and  in  accents  deep  and  tender : 
"  O  my  people,  what  have  I  done  unto  thee  ?  and  wherein  have  I 
wearied  thee?"  and  he  goes  on  to  recall  his  guardian  care  in  the 
past.  The  people  in  sudden  penitence  ask:  "Wherewith  shall  I 
come  before  Jehovah?"  The  prophet  answers  in  his  own  person : 
"He  hath  showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good." 

Next  we  hear  the  voice  of  Jehovah  crying  unto  the  city:  "Are 
there  yet  treasures  of  wickedness  in  the  house  of  the  wicked,  and 
a  scant  ephah  that  is  abominable  ?  Shall  I  be  pure  with  wicked 
balances  and  with  a  bag  of  deceitful  weights  ?"  We  are  reminded 
strongly  of  Amos,  who  had  especially  condemned  the  small  ephah 
measure  and  the  balances  of  deceit  with  which  the  merchants  of 
his  day  dealt.  The  prophet  goes  on  to  threaten :  "  Thou  shalt 
sow,  but  shalt  not  reap ;  thou  shalt  tread  the  olives,  but  shalt  not 
anoint  with  oil ;  and  the  vintage,  but  shalt  not  drink  the  wine." 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS     169 

We  are  still  further  reminded  of  the  earlier  prophet  of  doom  who 
had  told  the  wealthy  oppressors  of  the  poor  that  though  they  had 
built  houses  of  hewn  stone  they  should  not  dwell  in  them,  and 
though  they  had  planted  pleasant  vineyards  they  should  not  drink 
the  wine  thereof.1 
The  song  of  lament  that  follows  is  most  effective  in  its  opening : — 

Woe,  woe  is  me,  for  I  have  become 

Like  the  gatherings  of  harvest,  like  the  gleanings  of  the  vintage : 

Not  a  cluster  to  eat, 

Not  a  fig  that  any  one  desires.2 

Whether  actually  written  by  the  youngest  of  the  eighth- 
century  prophets  or  by  a  later  hand,  the  section  Micah  6  *-7  6  is 
the  appropriate  conclusion  of  eighth-century  prophecy  which  we 
must  count  one  of  the  most  significant  movements  in  the  history 
of  human  thought.  It  was  a  movement  which  comes  closer  to  the 
most  vital  thinking  of  the  present  day  than  almost  any  other  that 
we  can  name  in  ancient  literature. 

As  in  the  slow  evolution  of  physical  life  there  comes,  at  times, 
a  sudden  leap  when  accumulated  forces  manifest  themselves,  so 
in  the  slow  progress  of  thought  there  come  sudden  outflowerings 
when  the  pent  up  forces  of  the  spirit  find  splendid  expression. 
The  comparatively  crude,  but  profoundly  significant  moral  inter- 
pretations of  history  seen  in  the  Judean  and  Ephraimite  narratives 
of  the  ninth  and  early  eighth  centuries,  and,  more  especially,  in 
the  work  of  the  great  Elijah  of  the  ninth  century  indicate  the 
gathering  forces.  Among  the  conditions  that  tended  to  bring  to 
outflowering  the  growing  moral  insight  of  Hebrew  prophets,  we 
must  count  the  foreign  influences  of  Ahab's  court;  the  national 
expansion  when  Syrian  and  Assyrian  pressure  were  temporarily 
withdrawn,  with  the  opportunity  that  this  expansion  gave  for 
sudden  luxury  and  monopolistic  developments,  and  for  their 
accompanying  bribery  and  graft  in  the  state  and  its  church; 
and,  finally,  the  new  advance  of  Assyria,  with  the  fall  of  Syria  and 
then  of  Northern  Israel. 

1  Amos  5  u. 

2  Translation  of  Kent  in  Sermons,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  of  Israel's 
Prophets. 


170  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Israel  stood  in  peculiar  relation  to  her  God.  Other  Semitic 
peoples  worshipped  a  god  originally  belonging  either  to  the  par- 
ticular tribe  or  the  district  in  which  they  lived.  Jehovah  had 
entered  into  voluntary  relations  with  these  tribes  and  had,  through 
long  struggle  with  Dagan,  Chemosh,  and  the  Baalim  of  the 
Canaanites,  vindicated  his  power  in  the  land.  But,  before  Amos's 
time,  he  had  not  been  definitely  conceived  as  one  who  ruled  in  the 
affairs  of  other  lands  and  nations,  save  as  the  champion  of  his 
chosen  people.  We  see  in  the  -tenth-century  narrative  that,  if 
David  is  driven  across  the  border  of  Judea,  he  is  thought  of  as  cut 
off  from  the  possibility  of  worshipping  Jehovah.1  The  thought  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Syrian  officer  who  cannot  worship  Jehovah 
unless  he  has  a  little  Palestinian  earth  in  Syria.2  In  the  ninth- 
century  narrative,  Jacob  is  represented  as  crying  out,  "Jehovah 
is  in  this  place  and  I  knew  it  not."3  In  the  narrative  of  Judges 
Jephthah  speaks  to  Ammon 4  of  the  land  which  Chemosh  their 
god  had  given  them,  as  Jehovah  had  given  a  land  to  Israel.5  Elijah 
felt  that  to  get  closest  contact  with  his  God  he  must  go  to  Horeb. 
It  was  a  slow,  hard  lesson  to  learn  that  the  God  of  Sinai  was  able 
to  rule  the  land  of  Canaan.  The  advance  from  this  to  the  thought 
of  him  as  God  of  nations,  caring  even  for  Moab's  treatment  of 
Edom,  using  self-confident  Assyria  as  the  rod  of  his  anger,  purpos- 
ing to  bring  Egypt  and  Assyria  to  worship  him,  was  one  of  the 
most  stupendous  that  the  history  of  human  thought  records. 
Two  centuries  after  Amos's  time,  the  exiles  in  Babylonia  still  had 
no  grasp  of  this  conception ;  in  the  early  years  of  exile,  many  of 
EzekiePs  visions  were  directed  to  convincing  his  contemporaries 
that  Jehovah  had  come  to  Babylon  with  them,  while  the  marvellous 
literary  gifts  of  the  prophet  of  the  closing  years  of  exile  were  again 
and  again  put  to  their  utmost  stretch  in  emphasizing  the  power  of 
Jehovah  as  above  that  of  the  Babylonian  gods. 

Yet,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  the  herdsman 
of  Tekoa  grasped  the  thought  of  a  God  of  nations  and  presented 
it  in  majestic  form.  Israel  was  about  to  feel  the  full  force  of  her 
position  between  the  rival  centres  of  world  power,  when  Amos 

1  Samuel  26  19.  3  2  Kings  5  ».  3  Genesis  28  16. 

4  Properly  Moab,  whose  god  Chemosh  is.  Milcom  is  the  god  of  Ammon. 
See  Moore,  Judges,  in  loc.  Enc.  Bib.  §  Chemosh.  5  Judges  11  24. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS        171 

made  his  great  affirmation  of  one  God  ruling  in  the  movements 
of  nations.  The  extending  of  Jehovah's  rule  from  Sinai  to  Canaan, 
and  from  his  earlier  worshippers  to  tribes  that  had  not  known  him, 
had  prepared  the  way  for  the  sudden  leap  in  Amos's  great  affir- 
mation. 

The  fact  that  Jehovah  was  not  originally  the  God  of  Israel,  but 
had  voluntarily  elected  this  people,  had  entered  into  covenant 
with  them,  and  they  with  h  m,  gave  a  peculiar  possibility  of 
demands  in  his  name.  Though  Chemosh  might  be  angry  with  his 
people  and  permit  them  to  suffer  loss  for  a  time,1  he  could  not  cast 
them  off  altogether ;  the  relation  between  them  was  inherent. 
This  was  true  generally  of  the  Semitic  peoples;  their  gods  were 
bound  to  the  particular  tribes.  On  the  other  hand,  Jehovah  and 
Israel  had  entered  into  voluntary  contract.  When  Israel  broke 
this,  he  might  cast  her  off  absolutely.2  When  therefore  Amos 
affirmed  a  just  God  ruling  over  the  nations,  dealing  with  them 
according  to  their  righteousness,  he  could  denounce  complete 
destruction  upon  them  on  the  very  ground  of  their  relation  to  that 
God  —  You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth ; 
therefore  I  will  visit  upon  you  all  your  iniquities.3  The  only  hope 
lay  in  a  complete  change  on  Israel's  part  from  injustice  to  justice 
in  all  her  social,  economic,  and  religious  life. 

Through  personal  experience,  interpreted  in  the  light  of  closest 
sympathy  with  national  needs,  Hosea  came  to  see  that  hope  lay 
only  in  Jehovah's  unchangeable  choice  of  love ;  but  he  saw,  too, 
the  deeper  lesson  that  love  is  powerless  unless  it  can  win  a  volun- 
tary response.  It  can,  through  tender  care  and  stern  restraint, 
seek  to  purify  and  bring  to  a  new  appreciation,  but  until  answering 
love  comprehends  love,  even  God  can  do  nought  but  restrain  and 
wait. 

The  great  forward  movements  of  history  for  the  past  twenty-six 
centuries  have  _been  movements  toward  the  ideals  of  Amos  and 
Hosea.  This  is  clearly  manifest  in  the  history  of  Jewish  and 
Christian  religion.  Amos  made  religion  ethical.  The  work  of 

1  See  Moabite  Stone,  p.  89. 

2  For  further  discussion  of  the  peculiar  relation  of  Israel  and  Yahweh, 
see  Budde,  Religion  of  Israel  to  the  Exile,  especially  pp.  35-38 ;  Marti, 
Religion  of  the  Old  Testament,  pp.  56-66.  *  Amos  3  2. 


172  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

John  the  Baptist  and  of  Jesus  Christ  was  to  make  religion  ethical. 
The  great  struggle  going  on  in  the  church  of  to-day  concerns  the 
fundamentally  ethical  character  of  religion.  In  the  spirit  of 
Amos,  and  of  Christ  himself,  Christianity  is  coming  to  recognize 
that  its  mission  includes  the  establishment  of  justice  between  man 
and  man,  between  nation  and  nation.1  Amos,  and  Isaiah  after 
him,  saw  that  all  worship  from  a  people  practising  injustice  in 
economic  and  political  affairs  is  hateful  to  God.  Christ  Jesus 
taught  the  same  truth  with  his  deeper  interpretation  of  humanity 
as  composed  of  neighbors  and  brothers.  Paul,  interpreting  the 
spirit  of  Christ  for  his  generation,  broke  the  bonds  of  ritualism 
that  would  have  kept  Christianity  a  sect  of  Judaism.  Luther 
worked  as  a  disciple  of  Paul,  and,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
same  forward  movement  has  given  us  Reformed  Judaism.  To-day, 
in  the  Jewish  church  as  in  the  Christian,  there  is  a  sharp  division 
between  those  who  make  religious  organization  and  its  ritual 
requirements  fundamental  and  those  who  count  these  only 
means,  good  so  far  as  they  help  toward  the  end  which  Amos, 

1  Since  writing  the  present  chapter,  it  has  been  the  writer's  privilege  to 
read,  in  proof,  the  first  part  of  the  forthcoming  book  by  Louis  Wallis,  on 
The  Sociological  Study  of  the  Bible.  As  the  title  suggests,  this  writer 
approaches  the  study  of  the  Bible  from  the  sociologist's  view  point. 
After  quoting  from  Walker,  Religious  Life  in  New  England,  a  description 
of  the  transformation  from  the  conception  of  "  Christianity  as  an  agency 
for  individual  rescue  and  salvation"  to  the  thought  of  its  function  "as 
the  savior  of  society,"  he  adds  :  "  The  change  of  emphasis  thus  described 
is  due,  primarily,  not  to  intellectual  or  spiritual  or  theoretical  causes, 
but  to  the  increasing  pressure  of  the  social  problem.  And  since  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  has  the  social  character  just  noted,  the  social 
awakening  of  the  church  brings  it  into  a  new  attitude  with  reference 
to  the  Bible.  The  conditions  of  religious  life  and  thought  are  now  in 
process  of  rapid  change ;  and  there  is  growing  interest  in  Bible-study 
from  the  ethical  and  social  standpoints.  In  this  field  a  great  surprise 
awaits  the  rank  and  file  of  the  church.  For  if  the  modern  scientific  school 
of  Bible  scholarship  had  been  expressly  raised  up  for  the  purpose  of  guid- 
ing and  controlling  the  new  social  thought  of  the  church,  it  could  scarcely 
have  had  a  better  preparation  for  the  task  now  looming  before  it.  The 
new  view  of  the  Bible,  which  prevails  at  all  the  great  centres  of  learning, 
is  in  harmony  with  the  present  social  awakening  in  the  religious  world; 
whereas  the  older,  traditional  view  of  the  Bible  agrees  equally  with  the 
former,  one-sided  emphasis  upon  individualism." — Part  I,  Introduction. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  EIGHTH-CENTURY  PROPHETS     173 

Isaiah,  and  Christ  placed  unequivocally  above  organization  and 
ritual. 

If  this  is  clear  within  the  religious  bodies,  it  is  hardly  less  plain 
outside,  in  the  whole  story  of  the  progress  of  economic  and  political 
life.  In  our  own  day,  as  in  centuries  gone,  many  who  own  no 
allegiance  to  Christian  or  Jewish  church  give  heart  and  life  to  the 
realization  of  the  ideal  of  Amos  —  let  justice  roll  down  as  waters 
and  righteousness  as  a  perennial  stream.  In  the  story  of  the 
upward  progress  of  humanity  it  was  Amos  who  first  made  this 
principle  on  which  human  society  depends,  the  recognized  demand 
for  the  relation  of  social  class  to  social  class  and  of  nation  to  nation. 

Hosea  saw  that  the  fundamental  difficulty  with  Israel  was  in- 
capacity to  apprehend  the  love  of  God.  He  saw,  in  a  measure  at 
least,  that  Israel's  salvation  must  be  through  fellowship  with  the 
God  of  love,  and  that  the  brutish  insensibility  of  Israel  made  God's 
higher  blessing  of  her  just  as  impossible  as  true  marriage  fellowship 
between  himself  and  his  lewd  wife,  as  impossible  as  true  parental 
and  filial  fellowship  between  a  fostering  father  and  a  wandering 
son.  Christ  Jesus  came  to  make  fellowship  between  child  and 
Father  possible.  The  Gospel  of  John,  which  especially  emphasizes 
this  side  of  Jesus's  mission  and  which  declares  that  such  under- 
standing fellowship  is  eternal  life,1  is  the  perfect  sequel  of  the  book 
of  Hosea. 

The  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  did  not  see  the  truth 
given  by  Hosea  and  developed  in  John's  picture  of  Christ,  or  per- 
mitted it  to  be  obscured  by  other  emphasis.  The  most  advanced 
Christian  thinking  of  to-day  is  just  beginning  to  give  full  weight 
to  this  deep  interpretation  of  life  in  its  greatness,  that  was  first 
given  by  Hosea,  was  made  palpable  in  Jesus  Christ,  fully  stated 
only  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  is  now  at  last  becoming  central 
in  Christian  thought  and  endeavor.  The  modern  study  of  the 
Gospel  story  and  the  modern  study  of  the  nature  of  mental  life  are 
uniting  to  bring  Hosea's  thought  to  prominence  in  the  thinking 
of  many.2 

In  these  and  other  phases  of  the  thinking  of  the  eighth-century 
prophets,  it  is  not  difficult  to  support  the  claim  that  the  best  social 

1  John  17s. 

2  For  illustration  see,  for  example,  The  Atoning  Life,  by  Henry  S.  Nash. 


174  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

and  religious  thinking  of  to-day  is  moving  in  the  channels  first 
clearly  indicated  by  Israel's  prophets  of  the  eighth  century  B.C. 
We  have  already  noted  that  their  interpretation  of  nature  never 
fully  came  to  its  own  till  the  poets  of  the  nineteenth  century  wrote; 
we  add  to  this  that  their  interpretation  of  life  never  came  to  its 
own  among  any  large  number  of  men,  till  the  great  economic  and 
religious  crises  of  the  present  age  called  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  devoted  men  and  women  to  give  their  lives  to  making  real  in 
individual  and  society  the  ideals  of  Israel's  prophets. 


CHAPTER  XII 

PROPHETIC    PRINCIPLES    FORMULATED    INTO    LAW 

Deuteronomy 

(Before  621) 

LAW-BOOKS  do  not  usually  form  a  part  of  literature,  but  there 
was  a  law-book  written  in  Israel  which  cannot  be  omitted  from 
any  historical  survey  of  the  nation's  literature.  Its  influence 
upon  the  form  and  spirit  of  later  writing  was  revolutionary,  and, 
in  itself,  it  is  an  attractive  literary  work,  infused  with  sublime 
ideas  nobly  expressed.  When  the  historical  origin  of  the  book  is 
realized,  its  quality  ceases  to  be  wholly  inexplicable. 

We  have  seen  how  the  eighth-century  prophets  started  currents 
of  thought  that  made  their  half-century  one  of  the  most  notable 
in  the  progress  of  the  world's  thinking.  These  currents  were  such 
as  touch  the  springs  of  human  emotion  in  many  ways ;  but,  early 
in  the  next  century,  all  public  expression  of  this  thought  was 
suddenly  checked  by  a  great  reactionary  movement.  The  nation 
could  not  be  carried  forward  from  its  lower  ideas  with  such  a  rush 
as  the  prophetic  outburst  of  the  eighth  century  demanded.  When 
King  Hezekiah  died  in  686,  there  came  to  the  throne  his  twelve- 
year-old  son  Manasseh,  who  evidently  fell  under  the  control  of 
the  anti-prophetic  party  which  succeeded  in  rousing  this  great 
reactionary  movement.  Tradition  has  it  that  Isaiah  was  sawn 
asunder  during  this  reign.  We  have  already  seen  some  indication 
that  Micah  lived  till  this  time  and  cried  out  against  the  corruption 
of  all  classes  of  society.  If  so,  he  probably  suffered  a  martyr's 
death ;  Manasseh's  reign  is  chiefly  notable  for  its  bloody  perse- 
cution of  the  prophets  of  Jehovah  and  its  reinstatement  of  the 
practices  which  they  had  denounced.1 

1 2  Kings  21  1-18,  Jeremiah  2 »°,  15 4. 
175 


176  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  reaction  is  not  difficult  of  explanation.  The  prophets  had 
not  simply  enunciated  revolutionary  theological  ideas;  they  had 
applied  their  ideas  of  God's  justice  and  mercy  to  the  entire  civic, 
economic,  social,  and  religious  life  of  their  day.  In  emphasizing 
these  principles  they  had  opposed  powerful  and  unscrupulous 
business  and  political  interests  and  had  minimized  or  denounced 
time-honored  forms  of  religious  worship.  When  Hezekiah  carried 
out  his  reforms  under  the  influence  of  Isaiah  and  Micah,  it  was  as 
though,  to-day,  those  who  believe  that  the  religion  of  a  just  and 
merciful  God  means  the  suppression  of  special  privilege  should 
get  control  of  all  government  long  enough  to  put  out  the  "grafters" 
and  largely  to  break  up  oppressive  monopolies  of  all  sorts,  and  as 
though  they  should  say  to  those  orthodox  Christians  who  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  great  social  and  ethical  awakening  of  the 
time,  "All  your  prayers  and  hymns  are  loathesome  to  God; 
away  with  them.  What  he  demands  is  not  these  things,  but 
rather  to  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  him." 
With  Manasseh's  accession,  it  was  as  though,  following  this, 
all  who  believe  that  religion  is  primarily  a  matter  of  institutions 
and  ceremonies  and  that  revolutionary  ideas  in  religion  are  neces- 
sarily wrong,  with  the  "grafters"  and  monopolists,  should  come 
back  to  complete  control. 

Some  elements  of  the  situation  we  can  hardly  imagine  in  our 
day.  Those  who  had  stood  for  a  religion  that  expressed  itself  in 
putting  down  bribery  and  monopoly  were  put  to  death,  if  they  so 
much  as  taught  their  doctrines.  The  reform  has  utterly  failed; 
government,  as  well  as  business,  social,  and  religious  life  all  seem 
in  worse  state  than  before  it  was  undertaken.  Some  true  and 
earnest  souls  have  seen  a  great  light  and  have  faith  in  the  ultimate 
outcome ;  if  they  do  anything  to  carry  their  doctrines  into  imme- 
diate effect,  their  blood  flows  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem.  Many 
bear  witness  through  death ;  others  labor  secretly,  formulating  into 
detailed  and  practical  working  shape  for  the  everyday  life  of  their 
countrymen  the  ideals  which  the  prophets  have  set  forth  and 
have  tried  to  apply  whole. 

These  chastened  reformers  have  ready  at  hand  a  brief  code  of 
laws  dealing  with  religious,  social,  and  economic  practices  based 
upon  just  principles,  so  far  as  it  goes.  This  code  has  been  itself 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW    177 

a  slow  growth ;  it  includes  elements  of  great  antiquity,  it  is  already 
embodied  in  the  national  history,  and  is  revered  by  the  nation. 
They  make  this  code  the  basis  of  their  work.1  In  one  important 
respect  they  must  make  a  change,  for  which  the  division  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  downfall  of  Northern  Israel,  with  its  ancient 
sanctuaries,  has  done  much  to  prepare  the  way.  The  old  code 
presupposed  the  worship  of  Jehovah  in  many  places,  but  experi- 
ence has  showed  that,  at  the  scattered  local  sanctuaries,  his  worship 
is  wont  to  be  mingled  or  confused  with  that  of  the  local  deities, 
and  that  debasing  practices  are  thus  associated  with  the  worship 
of  Jehovah.  Amos  had  seen  the  situation  with  perfect  clearness 
and  had  attacked  it  rough  handed,  after  his  fashion.  The 
reformers  of  this  century  see  that  they  must  revise  the  old  laws 
at  this  point.  They  accordingly  leave  out  the  part  at  the  opening 
that  seems  to  permit  altars  to  Jehovah  in  any  and  every  place,2 
and  formulate  definite  requirements  that  all  sacrificial  worship 
shall  be  performed  at  the  temple  of  Solomon. 

The  law  of  the  central  sanctuary  is  the  most  prominent  feature 
of  their  revised  code ;  but  they  go  deeper  than  this,  for  they  have 
Hosea,  as  well  as  Amos  and  Isaiah,  and  they  have  given  their 
hearts  to  the  God  of  love  and  righteousness.  The  old  code  does 
not  emphasize  absolute  devotion  to  God  or  provide  for  the  detailed 
enforcement  of  justice  and  consideration  between  man  and  man. 
So  they  add  new  motives  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  old  laws,  and 
they  modify,  expand,  and  add  to  those  laws  until  they  produce 
a  code  that  is  at  once  old  and  new.  To  this  they  prefix  a  wonder- 
ful exhortation,  embodying  the  noblest  religious  and  social  thought 
ever  expressed  by  human  speech. 

They  cast  the  whole,  law  code  as  well  as  exhortation,  in  the 
literary  form  of  addresses  delivered  by  Moses.  In  this  their  age 
would  see  nothing  strange.  We  have  seen  that  the  idea  of  indi- 
vidual authorship  and  proprietorship  by  the  author  of  a  book  is 
relatively  modern.  In  addition  to  this,  their  work  is,  after  all, 
only  a  revision  and  expansion  of  earlier  laws  that  were  regarded  as 
of  Mosaic  origin.  Even  in  modern  times  a  work  may  be  greatly 
revised  and  expanded  by  later  hands  and  yet  continue  to  be  issued 

1  The  code  is  now  found  in  Exodus  20  M  -  23  M,  commonly  called  the 
"Book  of  the  Covenant."  2  Exodus  20  22~25. 


178  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

under  the  name  of  the  original  author.1  Again  we  know  that 
among  the  Jewish  writers  a  few  centuries  later  it  was  a  regular 
literary  method  to  represent  one's  own  thoughts  as  uttered  by 
some  ancient  man  of  renown.  Our  book  indeed  was  not  the 
first  example  of  the  practice,  although  it  may  not  have  been  carried 
out  on  so  elaborate  a  scale  before  Manasseh's  reign. 

The  weary  years  of  Manasseh's  reign  grew  into  decades ;  a  half 
century  passed  and  still  this  practically  pagan  king  lived  and  ruled. 
No  opportunity  appeared  for  giving  any  publicity  to  the  new 
law  code.  When,  at  the  end  of  fifty-five  years  of  rule,  the  old  king 
died  full  of  years  and  cruel  wickedness,  his  son,  bearing  the  name 
of  an  Egyptian  god,  proved  a  ruler  worthy  of  this  ill  omen.  The 
new  law-book  was  preserved  somewhere  about  the  temple,  but 
its  authors  may  have  been  dead  and  it  was  completely  forgotten. 

Happily  the  reign  of  Manasseh's  son  Amon  is  brief,  and  he 
is  succeeded  by  his  son,  still  a  boy.  The  father  removed,  in 
some  way  this  son  seems  to  grow  up  under  good  influences. 
As  the  years  go  by  the  voice  of  faithful  prophets  is  heard  once 
more.  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah  dare  to  reprove  and  rebuke  the 
evils  which  have  persisted  from  the  reigns  of  Manasseh  and 
Amon. 

After  a  time  the  king,  Josiah,  having  attained  full  manhood, 
undertakes  the  repair  of  the  temple  which  has  fallen  into  sad 
estate.  During  these  repairs  the  law-book,  written  in  Manasseh's 
reign,  is  brought  to  light.  When  it  is  read  to  the  king,  he  is 
deeply  moved.  He  cannot  fail  to  see  how  utterly  different  its 
provisions  are  from  the  practices  of  the  land.  He  is  moved  to 
undertake  a  great  reform  of  the  nation,  based  upon  this  law. 
Such,  in  general,  is  the  history  of  the  writing  and  first  publication 
of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  as  it  is  read  to-day  by  the  student 
of  Israel's  literary  and  religious  history.2 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  there  was  a  thoroughgoing  attempt  to 
centralize  the  nation's  worship  in  Jerusalem.  Whatever  Hezekiah 

1  When  the  present  writer  entered  college,  he  had  a  new  Webster's 
Unabridged   Dictionary.     It  was  fully   twice  as  large  as   the    Webster's 
Unabridged  that  his  father  had  in  his  college  days ;  yet  Noah  Webster  had 
died  before  that  earlier  edition  was  published. 

2  The  law  book  as  composed  before  621  B.C.  did  not  include  more  than 
chapters  5-26,  28  of  the  present  book  of  Deuteronomy. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW     179 

may  have  done  in  this  direction,1  his  zeal  did  not  extend  to  the 
destruction  of  the  high  places  that  Solomon  had  built  before 
Jerusalem  for  the  foreign  deities.2  Prior  to  Josiah's  reform  in 
621  B.C.,  Israel's  greatest  religious  leaders  show  no  knowledge  of 
the  central  requirement  of  Deuteronomy  that  all  sacrificial  worship 
shall  be  limited  to  the  Jerusalem  temple. 

The  great  hortatory  address  of  chapters  5-11  begins  with  the 
writer's  statement  that  "Moses  called  unto  all  Israel  and  said  unto 
them";  but  from  this  point  on  the  address  is  given  in  the  first 
person.  It  begins :  — 

Hear,  0  Israel,  the  statutes  and  the  ordinances  which  I  speak  in  your 
ears  this  day,  that  ye  may  learn  them,  and  observe  to  do  them.  Jehovah 
our  God  made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb.  Jehovah  made  not  this 
covenant  with  our  fathers,  but  with  us,  even  us,  who  are  all  of  us  here 
alive  this  day.  Jehovah  spake  with  you  face  to  face  in  the  mount  out 
of  the  midst  of  the  fire  (I  stood  between  Jehovah  and  you  at  that  time, 
to  show  you  the  word  of  Jehovah :  for  ye  were  afraid  because  of  the  fire, 
and  went  not  up  nto  the  mount),  saying, 

With  verse  6  begin  ten  commandments,  slightly  modified  from 
the  familiar  form  in  which  they  appear  in  Exodus  20.3  The  most 
notable  difference  is  found  hi  the  motive  assigned  for  observing 
the  Sabbath  day,  in  the  third  commandment.  Deuteronomy 
reads :  — 

Observe  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy,  as  Jehovah  thy  God  com- 
manded thee.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work ;  but  the 
seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto  Jehovah  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do 
any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant,  nor 
thy  maid-servant,  nor  thine  ox,  nor  thine  ass,  nor  any  of  thy  cattle,  nor 
thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates ;  that  thy  man-servant  and  thy  maid- 
servant may  rest  as  well  as  thou.  And  thou  shalt  remember  that  thou 
wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  Jehovah  thy  God  brought  thee 
out  thence  by  a  mighty  hand  and  by  an  outstretched  arm:  therefore 
Jehovah  thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day. 

The  motive  here  given  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  rest  of  the 

book,  in  which  thoughtful  consideration  for  the  rights  and  comfort 

of  others  is  constantly  manifest,  and  the  memory  of  the  Egyptian 

1 2  Kings  18  »-4.    2  2  Kings  23 13.    3  In  the  Ephraimite  Prophetic  History. 


180  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

bondage  is  repeatedly  urged  as  a  ground  for  kindly  treatment  of 
the  unfortunate. 

Throughout  the  long  hortatory  introduction  to  the  law  proper, 
there  is  a  notable  emphasis  on  God's  love  for  Israel,  reechoing 
Hosea's  great  truth.  We  may  note,  for  example,  in  chapter  7: — 

but  because  Jehovah  loveth  you,  and  because  he  would  keep  the  oath 
which  he  sware  unto  your  fathers,  hath  Jehovah  brought  you  out  with  a 
mighty  hand,  and  redeemed  you  out  of  the  house  of  bondage,  from  the 
hand  of  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt.  Know  therefore  that  Jehovah  thy  God, 
he  is  God,  the  faithful  God,  who  keepeth  covenant  and  lovingkindness 
with  them  that  love  him  and  keep  his  commandments  to  a  thousand 
generations,  and  repayeth  them  that  hate  him  to  their  face,  to  destroy 
them :  he  will  not  be  slack  to  him  that  hateth  him,  he  will  repay  him  to 
his  face,  and  he  will  love  thee,  and  bless  thee,  and  multiply  thee. l 

Amos  and  Isaiah  seem  to  speak  again  in  the  recognition  of  God's 
majesty;  such,  for  example,  as  that  of  chapter  10. 

Behold,  unto  Jehovah  thy  God  belongeth  heaven  and  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  the  earth,  with  all  that  is  therein.  For  Jehovah  your  God,  he 
is  God  of  gods,  and  Lord  of  lords,  the  great  God,  the  mighty,  and  the 
terrible,  who  regardeth  not  persons,  nor  taketh  reward.  He  doth  execute 
justice  for  the  fatherless  and  widow,  and  loveth  the  sojourner,  in  giving 
him  food  and  raiment.2 

God's  love  is  made  the  ground  of  demand  that  in  turn  the  people 
love  him :  — 

Thy  fathers  went  down  into  Egypt  with  threescore  and  ten  persons; 
and  now  Jehovah  thy  God  hath  made  thee  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for 
multitude. 

Therefore  thou  shalt  love  Jehovah  thy  God,  and  keep  his  charge,  and 
his  statutes,  and  his  ordinances,  and  his  commandments,  alway.3 

God's  espousal  of  the  cause  of  the  defenceless  is  ground  for 
mercy  toward  these  on  the  part  of  his  people. 

He  doth  execute  justice  for  the  fatherless  and  widow,  and  loveth  the 
sojourner,  in  giving  him  food  and  raiment.  Love  ye  therefore  the  so- 
journer; for  ye  were  sojourners  in  the  land  of  Egypt.4 

Such   generous   motives   are   repeatedly   urged   in   this   great 
discourse,  but  perhaps  almost  more  prominent  is  the  motive  of 
1  vv.  8-10,  13  a.         *  w.  14,  17-18.         3 10  22-ll  *.         *  10  1W9. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW     181 

national  self-interest.  The  principle  of  the  Divine  government 
is  presented  as  one  of  reward  and  punishment  according  to  faith- 
fulness. We  should  note  that  the  interest  to  which  appeal  is 
made  is  not  personal  but  national.  The  thought  of  Israel's  pro- 
phetic writers  has  not  yet  reached  the  stage  of  clearly  marked 
individualism.  Hosea  had  not  pictured  God  as  loving  the  indi- 
vidual, but  the  nation  —  that  was  his  wife,  his  son;  and 
Deuteronomy  makes  its  appeal  to  national  self-interest  rather 
than  individual  motives. 

All  the  commandment  which  I  command  th.ee  this  day  shall  ye  observe 
to  do,  that  ye  may  live,  and  multiply,  and  go  in  and  possess  the  land 
which  Jehovah  sware  unto  your  fathers.  And  it  shall  be,  if  thou  shalt 
forget  Jehovah  thy  God,  and  walk  after  other  gods,  and  serve  them,  and 
worship  them,  I  testify  against  you  this  day  that  ye  shall  surely  perish. 
As  the  nations  that  Jehovah  maketh  to  perish  before  you,  so  shall  ye 
perish ;  because  ye  would  not  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  Jehovah  your  God.1 

The  subsequent  experience  of  the  nation  was  of  a  character  to 
burn  deep  into  the  consciousness  of  the  people  the  doctrine  of 
Deuteronomy,  that  the  national  prosperity  and  especially  the 
possession  of  the  land  were  contingent  upon  faithfulness  to  Jehovah. 
The  result  was  that  for  a  time  this  idea  became  as  dominant  in 
the  literature  of  Israel  as  the  doctrine  of  evolution  is  in  the  thought 
of  to-day. 

Under  the  influence  of  Deuteronomy  it  was  natural  that 
faithfulness  to  Jehovah  should  be  interpreted  in  terms  of  the  law 
of  the  central  sanctuary ;  so  the  subsequent  age  that  had  lost  the 
superb  moral  fervor  and  insight  of  the  great  age  of  prophecy  tested 
conduct  once  more  in  terms  of  ritual  rather  than  justice,  kindness, 
and  humility.  Such  a  change  is  inevitable  when  the  noblest 
ethical  and  spiritual  thought  becomes  dogma. 

In  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  itself,  in  the  law  code  as  well  as  in 
the  great  exhortation  of  chapters  5-11,  the  profound  moral  and 
spiritual  life  of  the  great  eighth-century  prophets  still  throbs 
through  the  whole.  Such  laws  as  these  may  serve  to  illustrate :  — 

Thou  shalt  not  see  thy  brother's  ox  or  his  sheep  go  astray,  and  hide 
thyself  from  them :  thou  shalt  surely  bring  them  again  unto  thy  brother. 

1  g   1     19-20     cf>    7    12-16     H    8-9.    11-17     S2-15. 


182  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

And  if  thy  brother  be  not  nigh  unto  thee,  or  if  thou  know  him  not,  then 
thou  shalt  bring  it  home  to  thy  house,  and  it  shall  be  with  thee  until  thy 
brother  seek  after  it,  and  thou  shalt  restore  it  to  him.  And  so  shalt  thou 
do  with  his  ass ;  and  so  shalt  thou  do  with  his  garment ;  and  so  shalt  thou 
do  with  every  lost  thing  of  thy  brother's,  which  he  hath  lost,  and  thou 
hast  found:  thou  mayest  not  hide  thyself.  Thou  shalt  not  see  thy 
brother's  ass  or  his  ox  fallen  down  by  the  way,  and  hide  thyself  from  them : 
thou  shalt  surely  help  him  to  lift  them  up  again. 

When  thou  buildest  a  new  house,  then  thou  shalt  make  a  battlement 
for  thy  roof,  that  thou  bring  not  blood  upon  thy  house,  if  any  man  fall 
from  thence.1 

Thou  shalt  not  oppress  a  hired  servant  that  is  poor  and  needy,  whether 
he  be  of  thy  brethren,  or  of  thy  sojourners  that  are  in  thy  land  within 
thy  gates :  in  his  day  thou  shalt  give  him  his  hire,  neither  shall  the  sun 
go  down  upon  it  (for  he  is  poor,  and  setteth  his  heart  upon  it) ;  lest  he 
cry  against  thee  unto  Jehovah,  and  it  be  sin  unto  thee. 

Thou  shalt  not  wrest  the  justice  due  to  the  sojourner,  or  to  the  father- 
less, nor  take  the  widow's  raiment  to  pledge;  but  thou  shalt  remember 
that  thou  wast  a  bondman  in  Egypt,  and  Jehovah  thy  God  redeemed  thee 
thence:  therefore  I  command  thee  to  do  this  thing. 

When  thou  reapest  thy  harvest  in  thy  field,  and  hast  forgot  a  sheaf 
in  the  field,  thou  shalt  not  go  again  to  fetch  it :  it  shall  be  for  the  sojourner, 
for  the  fatherless,  and  for  the  widow ;  that  Jehovah  thy  God  may  bless 
thee  in  all  the  work  of  thy  hands.  When  thou  beatest  thine  olive-tree, 
thou  shalt  not  go  over  the  boughs  again:  it  shall  be  for  the  sojourner, 
for  the  fatherless,  and  for  the  widow.  When  thou  gatherest  the  grapes 
of  thy  vineyard,  thou  shalt  not  glean  it  after  thee :  it  shall  be  for  the 
sojourner,  for  the  fatherless,  and  for  the  widow.  And  thou  shalt  remem- 
ber that  thou  wast  a  bondman  in  the  land  of  Egypt;  therefore  I  com- 
mand thee  to  do  this  thing. 2 

Amos  found  a  people  who  really  thought  that  Jehovah  was 
bound  to  bless  them  just  because  they  were  his  people  and  were 
offering  sacrifices  to  him.  In  his  emphasis  upon  the  moral  quality 
of  religion  in  contrast  to  the  people's  thought  and  practice,  he 
flouted  all  forms  of  worship.  In  this  extreme  attitude,  he  was 
largely  followed  by  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah ;  the  newly  appre- 
hended truths  must  be  burned  into  the  hearts  of  the  people.  This 
is  ever  the  work  of  the  prophet ;  his  contemporaries  style  him  a 
fanatic,  but  if  he  is  to  do  the  work  of  a  prophet,  he  cannot  stop  to 
1 22  *-*•  8.  2  24  14-15>  17-18-  19-M. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW    183 

weigh  and  appraise  his  truth  in  its  relation  to  other  truths.  If  he 
be  a  true  prophet,  his  truth  is  the  truth  that  his  hearers  must 
learn,  and  the  tune  for  its  modification  and  limitation  by  other 
truths,  and  for  its  proper  placement  in  the  hierarchy  of  permanent 
principles  will  come  later. 

In  the  seventh-century  work  of  Deuteronomy,  we  have  not 
only  an  attempt  to  interpret  into  workable  form  for  everyday 
life  the  moral  and  spiritual  principles  of  the  eighth-century 
prophets;  we  have  also  a  comprehensive  attempt  to  synthesize 
these  with  the  worship  elements  of  life.  Here  it  is  no  longer 
"kindness  and  not  sacrifice"  but  kindness  and  sacrifice,  or,  more 
significant  than  that,  kindness  in  sacrifice. 

Seven  weeks  shalt  thou  number  unto  thee :  from  the  time  thou  beginnest 
to  put  the  sickle  to  the  standing  grain  shalt  thou  begin  to  number  seven 
weeks.  And  thou  shalt  keep  the  feast  of  weeks  unto  Jehovah  thy  God 
with  a  tribute  of  a  freewill-offering  of  thy  hand,  which  thou  shalt  give, 
according  as  Jehovah  thy  God  blesseth  thee:  and  thou  shalt  rejoice 
before  Jehovah  thy  God,  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter,  and 
thy  man-servant,  and  thy  maid-servant,  and  the  Levite  that  is  within 
thy  gates,  and  the  sojourner,  and  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  that  are 
in  the  midst  of  thee,  in  the  place  which  Jehovah  thy  God  shall  choose,  to 
cause  his  name  to  dwell  there.  And  thou  shalt  remember  that  thou 
wast  a  bondman  in  Egypt :  and  thou  shalt  observe  and  do  these  statutes. 

Thou  shalt  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles  seven  days,  after  that  thou 
hast  gathered  in  from  thy  threshing-floor  and  from  thy  winepress:  and 
thou  shalt  rejoice  in  thy  feast,  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter, 
and  thy  man-servant,  and  thy  maid-servant,  and  the  Levite,  and  the  so- 
journer, and  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  that  are  within  thy  gates.1 

And,  now,  behold,  I  have  brought  the  first  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground, 
which  thou,  0  Jehovah,  hast  given  me.  And  thou  shalt  set  it  down  before 
Jehovah  thy  God,  and  worship  before  Jehovah  thy  God:  and  thou  shalt 
rejoice  in  all  the  good  which  Jehovah  thy  God  hath  given  unto  thee,  and 
unto  thy  house,  thou,  and  the  Levite,  and  the  sojourner  that  is  in  the  midst 
of  thee. 

When  thou  hast  made  an  end  of  tithing  all  the  tithe  of  thine  increase 
in  the  third  year,  which  is  the  year  of  tithing,  then  thou  shalt  give  it  unto 
the  Levite,  to  the  sojourner,  to  the  fatherless,  and  to  the  widow,  that  they 
may  eat  within  thy  gates,  and  be  filled.* 

1 16  i-u,  *  26  1<HJ. 


184  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Heretofore,  it  would  seem  that  the  prophetic  element  in  Israel's 
religion  had  developed  almost  independently  of  the  priestly 
element;  the  inevitable  conflict  of  the  two  was  hardly  fore- 
shadowed until  prophecy  reached  its  sudden  maturity.  Then 
came  the  marvellous  synthesis  of  the  next  century  which  seems,  for 
the  moment,  to  make  possible  the  dwelling  together  of  the  two  in 
perfect  harmony ;  but  Deuteronomy  is  after  all,  at  its  heart  and 
centre,  a  law  code,  and  law  is  by  its  nature  the  ally  of  priest  rather 
than  of  prophet.  When,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventh  century, 
Deuteronomy  becomes  the  inspiration  and  guide  of  Josiah's  reform, 
reawakened  prophecy  suddenly  becomes  ominously  silent l  and  the 
history  of  the  reform  records  almost  exclusively  purification  and 
centralization  of  worship.2  The  spiritual  and  moral  requirements 
of  Deuteronomy  are  amenable  to  royal  decree  in  only  a  very 
limited  extent.  Thus,  when  the  book  first  becomes  effective,  as 
well  as  in  its  influence  upon  Israel's  later  literature,  the  priestly 
elements  of  Deuteronomy,  rather  than  the  prophetic,  are  empha- 
sized. Deuteronomy  grows  out  of  the  brief  age  of  prophecy, 
but  foreshadows  the  long  "night  of  legalism." 

In  its  language  and  style,  Deuteronomy  is  fully  as  influential 
in  the  literary  history  of  Israel  as  it  is  in  thought.  Very  rarely 
will  any  one  familiar  with  the  flavor  of  Israel's  earlier  prose  and 
with  Deuteronomy  be  in  any  doubt  as  to  whether  a  piece  of  Hebrew 
narrative  antedates  or  follows  the  publication  of  Deuteronomy  in 
621  B.C.  In  the  only  important  instance  where  historical  students 
of  Israel's  literature  have  not  yet  come  to  substantial  agreement, 
the  document  in  question  is  of  essentially  the  same  age  as  Deu- 
teronomy, so  that  the  only  uncertainty  is  whether  it  was  directly 
influenced  by  Deuteronomy  or,  slightly  antedating  it,  was  the 
outgrowth  of  the  same  era.3 

The  imaginary  addresses  of  Deuteronomy  are  singularly  dif- 
ferent in  style  from  the  actual  addresses  of  Amos  and  Isaiah 
or  any  other  of  Israel's  great  public  speakers.  Deuteronomy  has 
its  own  glories  of  style,  but  they  are  not  those  of  Israel's  ora- 
tory. Compare,  for  example,  the  burning  utterances  of  Amos,  in  his 

1  See  p.  200.  2  2  Kings  23  1-28. 

1  The  late  Samuel  document.    See  pp.  207-211. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW     185 

fourth  address,  with  the  words  ascribed  to  Moses  contemplating 
the  immediate  passage  of  the  Jordan. 

Hear  ye  this  word  which  I  take  up  for  a  lamentation  over  you,  0  house 
of  Israel.  The  virgin  of  Israel  is  fallen ;  she  shall  no  more  rise :  she  is 
cast  down  upon  her  land ;  there  is  none  to  raise  her  up.  For  thus  saith 
the  Lord  Jehovah:  The  city  that  went  forth  a  thousand  shall  have  a 
hundred  left,  and  that  which  went  forth  a  hundred  shall  have  ten  left,  to 
the  house  of  Israel. 

For  thus  saith  Jehovah  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Seek  ye  me,  and  ye 
shall  live;  but  seek  not  Bethel,  nor  enter  into  Gilgal,  and  pass  not  to 
Beersheba:  for  Gilgal  shall  surely  go  into  captivity,  and  Bethel  shall 
come  to  nought.  Seek  Jehovah,  and  ye  shall  live ;  lest  he  break  out  like 
fire  in  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  it  devour,  and  there  be  none  to  quench  it  in 
Bethel.  Ye  who  turn  justice  to  wormwood,  and  cast  down  righteous- 
ness to  the  earth,  seek  him  that  maketh  the  Pleiades  and  Orion,  and 
turneth  the  shadow  of  death  into  the  morning,  and  maketh  the  day  dark 
with  night ;  that  calleth  for  the  waters  of  the  sea,  and  poureth  them  out 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth  (Jehovah  is  his  name) ;  that  bringeth  sudden 
destruction  upon  the  strong,  so  that  destruction  cometh  upon  the  fortress.1 

All  the  commandment  which  I  command  thee  this  day  shall  ye  observe 
to  do,  that  ye  may  live,  and  multiply,  and  go  in  and  possess  the  land 
which  Jehovah  sware  unto  your  fathers.  And  thou  shalt  remember 
all  the  way  which  Jehovah  thy  God  hath  led  thee  these  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness,  that  he  might  humble  thee,  to  prove  thee,  to  know  what  was  in 
thy  heart,  whether  thou  wouldest  keep  his  commandments,  or  not.  And 
he  humbled  thee,  and  suffered  thee  to  hunger,  and  fed  thee  with  manna, 
which  thou  knewest  not,  neither  did  thy  fathers  know;  that  he  might 
make  thee  know  that  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  everything 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  Jehovah  doth  man  live.  Thy  raiment 
waxed  not  old  upon  thee,  neither  did  thy  foot  swell,  these  forty  years. 
And  thou  shalt  consider  in  thy  heart,  that,  as  a  man  chasteneth  his  son,  so 
Jehovah  thy  God  chasteneth  thee.  And  thou  shalt  keep  the  command- 
ments of  Jehovah  thy  God,  to  walk  in  his  ways,  and  to  fear  him.  For 
Jehovah  thy  God  bringeth  thee  into  a  good  land,  a  land  of  brooks  of  water, 
of  fountains  and  springs,  flowing  forth  in  valleys  and  hills ;  a  land  of  wheat 
and  barley,  and  vines  and  fig-trees  and  pomegranates;  a  land  of  olive- 
trees  and  honey ;  a  land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread  without  scarceness, 
thou  shalt  not  lack  anything  in  it ;  a  land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out 
of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  copper.  And  thou  shalt  eat  and  be  full, 

» Amos  5  M. 


186  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

and  thou  shalt  bless  Jehovah  thy  God  for  the  good  land  which  he  hath 
given  thee.1 

In  contrast,  Deuteronomy  is  leisurely  and  quiet;  a  solemn 
earnestness  and  a  certain  formal  dignity  make  its  quality.  This 
is  perhaps  even  more  noticeable  in  one  of  the  noblest  passages 
of  the  book,  compared  by  way  of  contrast,  with  the  great  arraign- 
ment of  Isaiah  1. 

Hear,  0  Israel:  Jehovah  our  God  is  one  Jehovah:  and  thou  shalt 
love  Jehovah  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  might.  And  these  words,  which  I  command  thee  this  day, 
shall  be  upon  thy  heart ;  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy 
children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when 
thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest 
up.  And  thou  shalt  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  thy  hand,  and  they  shall 
be  for  frontlets  between  thine  eyes.  And  thou  shalt  write  them  upon 
the  door-posts  of  thy  house,  and  upon  thy  gates. 

And  it  shall  be,  when  Jehovah  thy  God  shall  bring  thee  into  the  land 
which  he  sware  unto  thy  fathers,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,  to 
give  thee  great  and  goodly  cities,  which  thou  buildedst  not,  and  houses 
full  of  all  good  things  which  thou  filledst  not,  and  cisterns  hewn  out, 
which  thou  hewedst  not,  vineyards  and  olive-trees  which  thou  plantedst 
not,  and  thou  shalt  eat  and  be  full ;  then  beware  lest  thou  forget  Jehovah, 
who  brought  thee  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of 
bondage.  Thou  shalt  fear  Jehovah  thy  God :  and  him  shalt  thou  serve, 
and  shalt  swear  by  his  name.  Ye  shall  not  go  after  other  gods,  of  the 
gods  of  the  peoples  that  are  round  about  you ;  for  Jehovah  thy  God  in 
the  midst  of  thee  is  a  jealous  God;  lest  the  anger  of  Jehovah  thy  God 
be  kindled  against  thee,  and  he  destroy  thee  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Ye  shall  not  tempt  Jehovah  your  God,  as  ye  tempted  him  in  Massah. 
Ye  shall  diligently  keep  the  commandments  of  Jehovah  your  God,  and 
his  testimonies,  and  his  statutes,  which  he  hath  commanded  thee.  And 
thou  shalt  do  that  which  is  right  and  good  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah ;  that 
it  may  be  well  with  thee,  and  that  thou  mayest  go  in  and  possess  the  good 
land  which  Jehovah  sware  unto  thy  fathers,  to  thrust  out  all  thine  enemies 
from  before  thee,  as  Jehovah  hath  spoken.2 

The  vision  of  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz,  which  he  saw  concerning  Judah 
and  Jerusalem,  in  the  days  of  Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah, 
kings  of  Judah. 

1  Deuteronomy  8  l~10.  2  6  4~19. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW      187 

Hear,  0  heavens,  and  give  ear,  0  earth ;  for  Jehovah  hath  spoken :  I 
have  nourished  and  brought  up  children,  and  they  have  rebelled  against 
me.  The  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib;  but 
Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not  consider.  Ah  sinful  nation,  a 
people  laden  with  iniquity,  a  seed  of  evil-doers,  children  that  deal  cor- 
ruptly !  they  have  forsaken  Jehovah,  they  have  despised  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  they  are  estranged  and  gone  backward.  Why  will  ye  be  still 
stricken,  that  ye  revolt  more  and  more?  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and 
the  whole  heart  faint.  From  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head 
there  is  no  soundness  hi  it ;  but  wounds  and  bruises,  and  fresh  stripes : 
they  have  not  been  closed,  neither  bound  up,  neither  mollified  with  oil. 
Your  country  is  desolate;  your  cities  are  burned  with  fire;  your  land, 
strangers  devour  it  hi  your  presence,  and  it  is  desolate,  as  overthrown  by 
strangers.  And  the  daughter  of  Zion  is  left  as  a  booth  hi  a  vineyard,  as  a 
lodge  in  a  garden  of  cucumbers,  as  a  besieged  city.  Except  Jehovah  of 
hosts  had  left  unto  us  a  very  small  remnant,  we  should  have  been  as 
Sodom,  we  should  have  been  like  unto  Gomorrah.1 

It  will  be  recalled  that  this  chapter  of  Isaiah  was  counted  a 
perfect  example  of  the  prophetic  type  of  speech  with  its  rapid 
succession  of  apostrophe,  mandatory  address,  tender  appeal,  and 
glorious  promise,  and  its  wealth  of  figurative  language.  It  has, 
too,  its  own  dignity  and  rolling  phrases,  but  its  wave  crests  are 
lashed  into  white  foam,  very  different  from  the  dead-swell  of 
Deuteronomy's  deep  sea. 

The  passage  of  Deuteronomy  that  most  closely  resembles  the 
genuine  oratory  of  Israel  is  that  which  gives  the  threatened  con- 
sequences of  disobedience,  chapter  28  15fl.  It  begins :  — 

But  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  thou  wilt  not  hearken  unto  the  voice  of 
Jehovah  thy  God,  to  observe  to  do  all  his  commandments  and  his  statutes 
which  I  command  thee  this  day,  that  all  these  curses  shall  come  upon 
thee,  and  overtake  thee.  Cursed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  city,  and  cursed 
shalt  thou  be  in  the  field.  Cursed  shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy  kneading- 
trough.  Cursed  shall  be  the  fruit  of  thy  body,  and  the  fruit  of  thy  ground, 
the  increase  of  thy  cattle,  and  the  young  of  thy  flock.  Cursed  shalt  thou 
be  when  thou  comest  in,  and  cursed  shalt  thou  be  when  thou  goest  out. 

Jehovah  will  send  upon  thee  cursing,  discomfiture,  and  rebuke,  hi  all 
that  thou  puttest  thy  hand  unto  to  do,  until  thou  be  destroyed,  and 
until  thou  perish  quickly ;  because  of  the  evil  of  thy  doings,  whereby  thou 

i  Isaiah  1  *-«. 


188  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

hast  forsaken  me.  Jehovah  will  make  the  pestilence  cleave  unto  thee, 
until  he  have  consumed  thee  from  off  the  land,  whither  thou  goest  to 
possess  it.  Jehovah  will  smite  thee  with  consumption,  and  with  fever, 
and  with  inflammation,  and  with  fiery  heat,  and  with  the  sword,  and  with 
blasting,  and  with  mildew;  and  they  shall  pursue  thee  until  thou 
perish. 

And  thy  heaven  that  is  over  thy  head  shall  be  brass,  and  the  earth  that 
is  under  thee  shall  be  iron.  Jehovah  will  make  the  rain  of  thy  land  powder 
and  dust:  from  heaven  shall  it  come  down  upon  thee,  until  thou  be 
destroyed.1 

Even  the  strictly  legal  portion  of  the  code  exhibits  the  char- 
acteristic style  of  the  purely  hortatory  sections.  The  law  of  the 
king  may  serve  as  an  example. 

When  thou  art  come  unto  the  land  which  Jehovah  thy  God  giveth 
thee,  and  shalt  possess  it,  and  shalt  dwell  therein,  and  shalt  say,  I  will  set 
a  king  over  me,  like  all  the  nations  that  are  round  about  me ;  thou  shalt 
surely  set  him  king  over  thee  whom  Jehovah  thy  God  shall  choose: 
one  from  among  thy  brethren  shalt  thou  set  king  over  thee ;  thou  mayest 
not  put  a  foreigner  over  thee,  who  is  not  thy  brother.  Only  he  shall 
not  multiply  horses  to  himself,  nor  cause  the  people  to  return  to  Egypt, 
to  the  end  that  he  may  multiply  horses;  forasmuch  as  Jehovah  hath 
said  unto  you,  Ye  shall  henceforth  return  no  more  that  way.  Neither 
shall  he  multiply  wives  to  himself,  that  his  heart  turn  not  away :  neither 
shall  he  greatly  multiply  to  himself  silver  and  gold. 

And  it  shall  be,  when  he  sitteth  upon  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  that 
he  shall  write  him  a  copy  of  this  law  in  a  book,  out  of  that  which  is  before 
the  priests  the  Levites :  and  it  shall  be  with  him,  and  he  shall  read  therein 
all  the  days  of  his  life ;  that  he  may  learn  to  fear  Jehovah  his  God,  to 
keep  all  the  words  of  this  law  and  these  statutes,  to  do  them ;  that  his 
heart  be  not  lifted  up  above  his  brethren,  and  that  he  turn  not  aside 
from  the  commandment,  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left :  to  the  end  that 
he  may  prolong  his  days  in  his  kingdom,  he  and  his  children,  in  the  midst 
of  Israel. 

In  contrast  with  the  simple,  direct,  story-telling  style  of  Israel's 
earlier  prose  writers,  Deuteronomy  at  times  suggests  the  finished 
style  of  the  Greek  writers  who  were  trained  in  the  rules  of  expres- 
sion. Prose  has  become  almost  a  conscious  art;  henceforth  we 
may  not  expect  to  find  the  charming,  naive  narratives  that  were 

1 28  is-28. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  FORMULATED  INTO  LAW      189 

written  from  the  days  of  Solomon  to  those  of  Jeroboam  II.  With 
the  coming  of  great  generalizations  into  thought,  spontaneous 
emotion  must  be  checked  by  the  cold  grasp  of  reflection,  and  poetic 
interest  in  the  vicissitudes  of  individual  heroes  must  give  place 
to  the  recording  and  interpreting  of  national  movements. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

REAWAKENING  OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH*S  REIGN 

Zephaniah,  Jeremiah,  and  Nahum 

(686  to  608  B.C. ) 

PROPHECY  was  so  effectually  silenced  under  Manasseh  that  it  is 
not  until  his  grandson  Josiah  has  been  upon  the  throne  a  dozen 
years  that  the  prophetic  voice  is  again  audible.1  At  this  time 
there  occurred  a  great  invasion  of  southwestern  Asia  by  the 
barbaric  Scythian  hordes  from  the  north,  vividly  described  by 
Herodotus.2  These  dread  foes  swept  down  over  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  valley  and,  while  they  had  no  enginery  to  capture  a 
strong  city  like  Nineveh,  they  wrought  its  ultimate  ruin  hardly 
less  surely  by  their  devastation  of  all  the  neighboring  country. 
It  does  not  appear  that  the  invaders  came  up  into  the  Judean  hills, 
but  they  occupied  the  coast  plains  of  Palestine,  where  their  presence 
must  have  made  an  impression  of  horror  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  the  hills. 

The  little  book  of  Zephaniah  is  generally  regarded  as  showing 
in  its  imagery  the  influence  of  the  Scythian  invasion.  It  threatens 
destruction  to  Judah  and  Nineveh,  such  as  would  be  wrought  by 
a  dreadful  foe. 

I  will  utterly  consume  all  things  from  off  the  face  of  the  ground,  saith 
Jehovah.  I  will  consume  man  and  beast;  I  will  consume  the  birds  of 
the  heavens,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  stumblingblocks  with  the 
wicked;  and  I  will  cut  off  man  from  off  the  face  of  the  ground,  saith 
Jehovah  ...  for  the  day  of  Jehovah  is  at  hand:  for  Jehovah  hath 
prepared  a  sacrifice,  he  hath  consecrated  his  guests.  .  .  .  And  their 
wealth  shall  become  a  spoil,  and  their  houses  a  desolation :  .  .  .  a  day  of 
the  trumpet  and  alarm,  against  the  fortified  cities,  and  against  the  high 
battlements  .  .  .  and  their  blood  shall  be  poured  out  as  dust,  and  their 

1  See  p.  178.  » 1,  103-106. 

190 


REAWAKENING  OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH!S  REIGN      191 

flesh  as  dung.  .  .  .  And  he  will  stretch  out  his  hand  against  the  north, 
and  destroy  Assyria,  and  will  make  Nineveh  a  desolation,  and  dry  like 
the  wilderness.  And  herds  shall  lie  down  in  the  midst  of  her,  all  the 
beasts  of  the  nations :  both  the  pelican  and  the  porcupine  shall  lodge  in 
the  capitals  thereof ;  their  voice  shall  sing  in  the  windows ;  desolation 
shall  be  in  the  thresholds :  for  he  hath  laid  bare  the  cedar-work.  This 
is  the  joyous  city  that  dwelt  carelessly,  that  said  in  her  heart,  I  am, 
and  there  is  none  besides  me :  how  is  she  become  a  desolation,  a  place  for 
beasts  to  lie  down  in  I  every  one  that  passeth  by  her  shall  hiss,  and 
wag  his  hand.1 

Since  the  book  was  evidently,  on  other  grounds,  written  not  long 
before  the  Deuteronomic  reform,  it  was  probably  the  Scythian 
invasion  that  suggested  the  form  in  which  doom  was  threatened, 
if  this  invasion  was  not  indeed  an  influential  element  in  the  circum- 
stances calling  forth  the  prophecy. 

The  religious  and  moral  conditions  pictured  by  the  prophet 
seem  the  aftermath  of  the  great  heathen  reaction  of  the  seventh 
century. 

And  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  upon  Judah,  and  upon  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem ;  and  I  will  cut  off  the  remnant  of  Baal  from  this  place,  and 
the  name  of  the  Chemarim  with  the  priests ;  and  them  that  worship  the 
host  of  heaven  upon  the  housetops ;  and  them  that  worship,  that  swear  to 
Jehovah  and  swear  by  Malcam;  and  them  that  are  turned  back  from 
following  Jehovah;  and  those  that  have  not  sought  Jehovah,  nor  in- 
quired after  him. 

Woe  to  her  that  is  rebellious  and  polluted  I  to  the  oppressing  city  I 
She  obeyed  not  the  voice;  she  received  not  correction;  she  trusted  not 
hi  Jehovah ;  she  drew  not  near  to  her  God.  Her  princes  in  the  midst  of 
her  are  roaring  lions ;  her  judges  are  evening  wolves ;  they  leave  nothing 
till  the  morrow.  Her  prophets  are  light  and  treacherous  persons;  her 
priests  have  profaned  the  sanctuary,  they  have  done  violence  to  the  law. 
Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  her  is  righteous ;  he  will  not  do  iniquity ;  every 
morning  doth  he  bring  his  justice  to  light,  he  faileth  not;  but  the  unjust 
knoweth  no  shame.2 

Zephaniah's  theme  is  the  day  of  the  Lord,  a  day  of  darkness  and 
gloom,  a  day  of  the  trumpet  and  alarm.  It  will  be  recalled  that 
Amos  was  the  first  to  picture  the  day  of  the  Lord  as  darkness  and 

1  Zephaniah  1  *-*•  7b,  13a-  16-  17b-  2  13~15.  2  Zephaniah  1  *-*,  3  M. 


192  THE   LITERATURE  OP  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

not  light.  Zephaniah  was  familiar  with  the  prophetic  writings 
of  the  previous  century,  and  applied  their  teachings  to  the  condi- 
tions of  his  own  generation. 

Not  far  from  the  time  when  Zephaniah  gave  his  brief  message, 
a  far  greater  than  he  became  conscious  of  the  prophet's  task  as  his 
divinely  appointed  destiny.  The  later  record  of  the  inner  expe- 
rience forms  the  first  chapter  of  our  book  of  Jeremiah.  It  lacks 
the  majestic  quality  of  Isaiah's  inaugural  vision,  in  which  pro- 
found yet  typical  inner  experience  was  so  impressively  pictured. 
Jeremiah's  account  is  given  in  the  simplest  form.  It  begins :  — • 

Now  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me,  saying,  Before  I  formed 
thee  in  the  belly  I  knew  thee,  and  before  thou  earnest  forth  out  of  the 
womb  I  sanctified  thee ;  I  have  appointed  thee  a  prophet  unto  the  nations. 
Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  Jehovah !  behold,  I  know  not  how  to  speak ;  for 
I  am  a  child.  But  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  Say  not,  I  am  a  child ;  for  to 
whomsoever  I  shall  send  thee  thou  shalt  go,  and  whatsoever  I  shall  com- 
mand thee  thou  shalt  speak.1 

The  description  becomes  more  impressive  as  it  goes  on. 

Be  not  afraid  because  of  them ;  for  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver  thee,  saith 
Jehovah.  Then  Jehovah  put  forth  his  hand,  and  touched  my  mouth  ; 
and  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  Behold,  I  have  put  my  words  in  thy  mouth : 
see,  I  have  this  day  set  thee  over  the  nations  and  over  the  kingdoms, 
to  pluck  up  and  to  break  down  and  to  destroy  and  to  overthrow,  to  build 
and  to  plant.2 

This  is  followed  by  the  account  of  two  symbolic  visions,  the 
first  of  which  is  far  from  impressive  to  us. 

Moreover  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me,  saying,  Jeremiah,  what 
seest  thou?  And  I  said,  I  see  a  rod  of  an  almond-tree.  Then  said 
Jehovah  unto  me,  Thou  hast  well  seen :  for  I  watch  over  my  word  to  per- 
form it.3 

The  only  significance  of  the  almond-tree  rod  seems  to  be  that 
pointed  out  by  the  revisers  in  their  notes,  which  indicate  the 
play  upon  the  word  "watching"  in  "almond  tree"  —  shokedh, 
shakedh.  Again  we  are  reminded  that  such  plays  were  not  the 
trivial  matters  with  the  Hebrews  that  they  are  with  us.4 

1  Jeremiah  1  4~7.  2  Jeremiah  1  s-10.  3  Jeremiah  1  n~12. 

4  The  Puritans  practised  plays  upon  names  in  the  most  serious  connec- 
tions. "When  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stone,  the  successor  of  Thomas  Hooker 


REAWAKENING  OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH'S  REIGN    193 

The  next  vision,  that  of  the  boiling  caldron  with  its  face  from 
the  north,  has  more  of  inherent  significance. 

And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me  the  second  time,  saying,  What 
seest  thou?  And  I  said,  I  see  a  boiling  caldron;  and  the  face  thereof 
is  from  the  north.  Then  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  Out  of  the  north  evil 
shall  break  forth  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land.  For,  lo,  I  will 
call  all  the  families  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  north,  saith  Jehovah;  and 
they  shall  come,  and  they  shall  set  every  one  his  throne  at  the  entrance 
of  the  gates  of  Jersualem,  and  against  all  the  walls  thereof  round  about, 
and  against  all  the  cities  of  Judah.  And  I  will  utter  my  judgments 
against  them  touching  all  then*  wickedness,  in  that  they  have  forsaken 
me,  and  have  burned  incense  unto  other  gods,  and  worshipped  the  works 
of  then*  own  hands.1 

As  hi  the  case  of  the  opening  paragraph,  this  rises  to  greater  power 
toward  the  close,  where  Jehovah  is  represented  encouraging 
Jeremiah  to  the  greatness  of  his  mission. 

Thou  therefore  gird  up  thy  loins,  and  arise,  and  speak  unto  them  all 
that  I  command  thee :  be  not  dismayed  at  them,  lest  I  dismay  thee  before 
them.  For,  behold,  I  have  made  thee  this  day  a  fortified  city,  and  an 
iron  pillar,  and  brazen  walls,  against  the  whole  land,  against  the  kings  of 
Judah,  against  the  princes  thereof,  against  the  priests  thereof,  and  against 
the  people  of  the  land.  And  they  shall  fight  against  thee;  but  they 
shall  not  prevail  against  thee :  for  I  am  with  thee,  saith  Jehovah,  to  deliver 
thee.2 

On  the  whole,  Jeremiah's  opening  vision  gives  small  promise  of 
originality  of  thought  or  power  of  expression,  and  suggests  little 
of  strong  or  attractive  personality.  Amos,  Micah,  and  Isaiah  are 
men  of  strength  who  must  do  great  work  despite  their  defects; 
Hosea  is  from  the  first  a  man  of  fire,  capable  of  the  most  intense 
love,  but  one  who  must  learn  patience  through  the  strength  of  his 

at  Hartford,  died  in  1663,  his  colleagues  vied  with  one  another  in  their 
fervid  appreciations  of  his  virtues.  He  was  compared  to  the  stone  which 
Jacob  set  up  and  called  Eben-ezer,  and  also  the  stone  with  which  David 
slew  Goliath ;  he  was  termed 

'  Whetstone,  that  edgefy 'd  th'  obtusest  mind  ; 
Loadstone,  that  drew  the  iron  heart  unkind.'" 

—  W.  E.  Simonds,  History  of  American  Literature,  p.  33. 
1  Jeremiah  1  1J-18.  *  Jeremiah  1  17~19. 

o 


194  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

burning  love.  Jeremiah  appears  crushed  at  the  thought  of  re- 
sponsibility; to  be  one  driven  to  his  work  by  a  relentless  sense 
that  it  is  his  work.  He  will  never  love  the  struggle  nor  greet  his 
fate  with  a  shout ;  yet  under  his  shrinking  exterior,  there  is  resist- 
less conviction  that  he  has  been  predestined  before  birth  to  do  a 
great  work.  Jeremiah  will  never  do  his  work  in  spite  of  his 
defects;  he  is  not  a  man  like  his  great  predecessors  in  whom 
"the  defects  of  his  virtues"  are  obvious.  Rather  he  is  a  supreme 
example  of  the  possibilities  of  one  who  possesses  the  virtues  of  his 
defects;  it  was  the  very  tenacity  of  his  weakness  that  made 
Jeremiah  an  original  force  in  the  upward  progress  of  humanity. 

In  the  heading  of  the  book,  the  first  date  is  given  as  the  thirteenth 
year  of  Josiah's  reign,  that  is,  626  B.C.  We  can  follow  Jeremiah's 
activities  for  full  forty  years  after  that  time,  until  after  the  down- 
fall of  Jerusalem  in  586  B.C.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Scythian 
invasion  may  have  been  the  immediate  occasion  for  the  opening 
of  his  ministry  as  well  as  that  of  Zephaniah.  The  picture  of  the 
boiling  caldron  may  well  have  been  suggested  by  this. 

Very  probably  we  are  to  find  the  earliest  of  Jeremiah's  recorded 
sermons  in  chapter  2.  One  is  here  strongly  reminded  of  Hosea ; 
the  address  opens  with  his  thought  of  Israel  as  Jehovah's  bride 
in  the  wilderness.1 

And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  me,  saying,  Go,  and  cry  in  the  ears 
of  Jerusalem,  saying,  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  I  remember  for  thee  the  kind- 
ness of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals;  how  thou  wentest  after 
me  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was  not  sown.  Israel  was  holiness 
unto  Jehovah,  the  first-fruits  of  his  increase :  all  that  devour  him  shall 
be  held  guilty ;  evil  shall  come  upon  them,  saith  Jehovah.2 

Brutish  insensibility  to  the  divine  care  and  guidance  has  been 
the  attitude  of  the  people. 

Hear  ye  the  word  of  Jehovah,  O  house  of  Jacob,  and  all  the  families  of 
the  house  of  Israel;  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  What  unrighteousness  have 
your  fathers  found  in  me,  that  they  are  gone  far  from  me,  and  have  walked 
after  vanity,  and  are  become  vain  ?  Neither  said  they,  Where  is  Jehovah 
that  brought  us  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  that  led  us  through  the 
wilderness,  through  a  land  of  deserts  and  of  pits,  through  a  land  of  drought 
and  of  the  shadow  of  death,  through  a  land  that  none  passed  through,  and 

1  Compare  Hosea  2  14~2S.  *  Jeremiah  2  l~*. 


REAWAKENING  OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH'S  REIGN     195 

where  no  man  dwelt  ?  And  I  brought  you  into  a  plentiful  land,  to  eat  the 
fruit  thereof  and  the  goodness  thereof;  but  when  ye  entered,  ye  defiled 
my  land,  and  made  my  heritage  an  abomination.1 

The  priests,  rulers,  and  prophets  have  been  faithless. 

The  priests  said  not,  Where  is  Jehovah?  and  they  that  handle  the 
law  knew  me  not :  the  rulers  also  transgressed  against  me,  and  the  prophets 
prophesied  by  Baal,  and  walked  after  things  that  do  not  profit.2 

The  husband's  pleading  is  tender  though  searching,  with  its 
appeal  to  the  common  conduct  of  the  nations  which  do  not  change 
their  gods,  though  they  be  no  gods  at  all. 

Wherefore  I  will  yet  contend  with  you,  saith  Jehovah,  and  with  your 
children's  children  will  I  contend.  For  pass  over  to  the  isles  of  Kittim, 
and  see ;  and  send  unto  Kedar,  and  consider  diligently ;  and  see  if  there 
hath  been  such  a  thing.  Hath  a  nation  changed  its  gods,  which  yet  are 
no  gods?  but  my  people  have  changed  their  glory  for  that  which  doth 
not  profit.3 

Suddenly  the  figurative  representation  of  God  as  the  husband 
who  cares  bountifully  for  his  bride  is  changed  to  that  of  a  fountain 
of  living  waters  contrasted  to  broken  cisterns  that  cannot  hold  even 
their  stale,  stored-up  waters.  Again,  Israel  is  a  beast  of  burden, 
whose  yoke  has  been  broken,  a  choice  vine  planted  that  has  de- 
generated into  an  alien  vine,  a  young  camel  galloping  aimlessly,4 
a  wild  ass  of  the  wilderness,  a  detected  thief.  Isaiah  himself 
could  scarcely  heap  figure  upon  figure  hi  more  rapid  succession; 
yet,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  Isaiah,  the  total  effect  is  not  confus- 
ing. If  the  reader  is  alert,  he  finds  each  changing  figure  flashing 
its  ray  of  light  upon  Israel's  character  and  conduct. 

Be  astonished,  O  ye  heavens,  at  this,  and  be  horribly  afraid,  be  ye 
very  desolate,  saith  Jehovah.  For  my  people  have  committed  two 
evils :  they  have  forsaken  me,  the  f ountain  of  living  waters,  and  hewed 
them  out  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that  can  hold  no  water. 

Is  Israel  a  servant?  is  he  a  home-born  slave?  why  is  he  become  a 
prey?  The  young  lions  have  roared  upon  him,  and  yelled;  and  they 
have  made  his  land  waste :  his  cities  are  burned  up,  without  inhabitant. 

1  Jeremiah  2  *~7.  *  Jeremiah  2 ».  » Jeremiah  2  *-". 

4  Literally,  twisting  herself,  entangling  her  ways. 


196  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  children  also  of  Memphis  and  Tahpanhes  have  broken  the  crown 
of  thy  head.  Hast  thou  not  procured  this  unto  thyself,  in  that  thou 
hast  forsaken  Jehovah  thy  God,  when  he  led  thee  by  the  way?  And 
now  what  hast  thou  to  do  in  the  way  to  Egypt,  to  drink  the  waters  of 
the  Shihor?  or  what  hast  thou  to  do  in  the  way  to  Assyria,  to  drink  the 
waters  of  the  River  ?  Thine  own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee,  and  thy 
backslidings  shall  reprove  thee :  know  therefore  and  see  that  it  is  an  evil 
thing  and  a  bitter,  that  thou  hast  forsaken  Jehovah  thy  God,  and  that 
my  fear  is  not  in  thee,  saith  the  Lord, 'Jehovah  of  hosts. 

For  of  old  time  I  have  broken  thy  yoke,  and  burst  thy  bonds;  and 
thou  saidst,  I  will  not  serve;  for  upon  every  high  hill  and  under  every 
green  tree  thou  didst  bow  thyself,  playing  the  harlot.  Yet  I  had  planted 
thee  a  noble  vine,  wholly  a  right  seed :  how  then  art  thou  turned  into  the 
degenerate  branches  of  a  foreign  vine  unto  me  ?  For  though  thou  wash 
thee  with  lye,  and  take  thee  much  soap,  yet  thine  iniquity  is  marked 
before  me,  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah.  How  canst  thou  say,  I  am  not  defiled, 
I  have  not  gone  after  the  Baalim  ?  see  thy  way  in  the  valley,  know  what 
thou  hast  done;  thou  art  a  swift  dromedary  traversing  her  ways;  a 
wild  ass  used  to  the  wilderness,  that  snuff  eth  up  the  wind  in  her  desire ;  in 
her  occasion  who  can  turn  her  away  ?  all  they  that  seek  her  will  not  weary 
themselves ;  in  her  month  they  shall  find  her.  Withhold  thy  foot  from 
being  unshod,  and  thy  throat  from  thirst.  But  thou  saidst,  It  is  in  vain; 
no,  for  I  have  loved  strangers,  and  after  them  will  I  go. 

As  the  thief  is  ashamed  when  he  is  found,  so  is  the  house  of  Israel 
ashamed;  they,  their  kings,  their  princes,  and  their  priests,  and  their 
prophets;  who  say  to  a  stock,  Thou  art  my  father;  and  to  a  stone, 
Thou  hast  brought  me  forth :  for  they  have  turned  their  back  unto  me, 
and  not  their  face ;  but  in  the  time  of  their  trouble  they  will  say,  Arise,  and 
save  us.  But  where  are  thy  gods  that  thou  hast  made  thee  ?  let  them 
arise,  if  they  can  save  thee  in  the  time  of  thy  trouble :  for  according  to  the 
number  of  thy  cities  are  thy  gods,  0  Judah.1 

The  literary  promise  of  the  opening  chapter  was  not  great, 
but  the  address  of  chapter  2  tells  us  that  another  poet-prophet 
has  arisen  in  Israel.  The  thought  of  God's  tender  care  and  of 
Israel's  wanton  insensibility  to  his  love,  so  effectively  expanded 
in  Isaiah's  great  arraignment  (chapter  1),  is  again  presented  in 
an  original  and  effective  form. 

The  four  chapters  following  are  most  naturally  assigned  to  the 
earlier  years  of  Jeremiah's  preaching,  before  621,  when  the  prophet 

1  Jeremiah  2  12-28. 


REAWAKENING  OF   PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH'S  REIGN     197 

must  still  have  been  a  comparatively  young  man.  In  these  early 
addresses  one  discovers  that  the  young  man,  like  Zephaniah,  had 
been  a  diligent  student  of  the  earlier  prophets,  but  finds,  as  yet, 
no  great,  new  contributions  to  the  prophetic  interpretation  of 
life. 

Clearly,  Jeremiah's  spirit  is  most  closely  akin  to  that  of  Hosea. 
He  does  not  merely  adopt  and  repeatedly  use  Hosea's  character- 
istic figure ;  he  has  genuinely  entered  into  Hosea's  interpretation 
of  life.  He,  too,  sees  that  it  is  insensibility  to  the  goodness  of 
God  that  is  the  root  troub  e  with  Israel  —  nothing  purely  exter- 
nal. They  do  not  know  God;  this  is  the  fundamental  lack. 
He  cries  out  in  God's  name :  For  my  people  is  foolish,  they  have 
not  known  me ;  they  are  sottish  children,  and  they  have  none 
understanding;  they  are  wise  to  do  evil,  but  to  do  good  they 
have  no  knowledge. 

Hosea  first  learned  the  lesson  through  the  death  he  died  when 
he  found  that  the  one  to  whom  he  had  given  his  unbounded  love 
was  incapable  of  understanding  or  caring.  Jeremiah's  tender, 
sensitive  heart  made  him  able,  even  in  the  years  of  his  immaturity, 
before  he  had  come  to  his  own  life,  to  understand  the  significance 
of  Hosea's  truth.  He,  too,  saw  God  desiring  soul  union  and 
communion  with  his  people  as  a  true  husband  or  father,  and  saw 
his  people  absolutely  unresponsive  to  this  yearning  love. 

As  we  read  Jeremiah's  early  sermons  and  feel  the  voice  and  heart 
of  Hosea  on  every  page,  we  may  note  also  the  message  of  Amos 
and  Isaiah,  spoken  once  again  with  hardly  less  of  strength  and 
poetic  power  than  in  its  original  form.  Injustice  to  the  weak  in 
the  law  court ;  riches  gained  through  oppression  and  dishonesty ;  * 
the  divine  judgment  threatened  through  a  nation  from  afar;2 
yet  a  remnant  to  be  spared;3  sacrifices  hateful  to  God;4  glossing 
over  of  evil,  crying  peace,  peace  when  there  is  no  peace6  —  in  all 
these  and  many  other  notes  that  we  catch  in  Jeremiah's  earlier 
discourses,  we  may  recognize  the  influence  of  the  masters  over 
whose  recorded  messages  he  must  have  pored  and  pondered,  listen- 
ing to  the  voices  of  the  past,  in  the  barren  years  of  his  youth, 
when  no  prophet  spoke  publicly.  Yet  throughout  these  early 

i  5  »-».  a  5  uf  e  u.  z  5  is.       <  e  ".  8  6  "-". 


198  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

sermons,  Jeremiah's  voice  is  no  mere  echo,  even  though  his  own 
distinctive  message  has  not  yet  shaped  itself. 

.  An  individual  note  which  we  catch  in  these  chapters,  and  which 
we  shall  come  to  recognize  as  a  distinctive  mark  of  Jeremiah's 
personality,  is  the  inner  compulsion  to  give  his  message  of  plucking 
up  and  breaking  down. 

For  thus  hath  Jehovah  of  hosts  said  : 
Hew  down  trees  and  cast  up  a  mound  against  Jerusalem. 
This  is  the  faithless  city ;  there  is  only  'oppression  in  her  midst. 
As  a  fountain  keepeth  fresh  its  waters,  so  she  keepeth  fresh  her  wicked- 
ness; 

Acts  of  violence  and  oppression  are  heard  in  her  ; 
Before  me  continually  are  wounds  and  blows. 
Receive  instruction,  0  Jerusalem,  lest  I  be  alienated  from  thee  ; 
Lest  I  make  thee  a  desolation,  an  uninhabited  land. 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts : 
Glean  thoroughly,  as  a  vine,  the  remnant  of  Israel, 
Put  forth  again  your  hand  as  a  grape  gatherer  toward  the  young  vines. 

To  whom  shall  I  speak  and  testify  that  they  may  hear  ? 

Behold,  their  ear  is  uncircumcised  and  they  cannot  hearken ; 

Behold,  the  word  of  Jehovah  has  become  to  them  a  reproach,  they  have  no 

pleasure  in  it. 
Therefore  I  am  full  of  the  wrath  of  Jehovah ;  I  am  weary  of  restraining 

myself. 
I  must  pour  it  out  upon  the  children  in  the  street  and  upon  the  assembly 

of  young  men, 
For  both  the  husband  and  the  wife  shall  be  taken,  the  aged  and  him  that 

is  advanced  in  years. 

And  their  houses  shall  be  turned  over  to  others,  their  fields  to  robbers ; 
For  from  the  least  even  to  the  greatest  of  them,  each  greedily  robs, 
And  from  the  prophet  even  to  the  priest  each  deals  deceitfully.1 

This  is  akin  to  the  relentless  conviction  noted  in  connection  with 
the  inaugural  vision. 

We  imagine  Amos  almost  exulting  in  his  message  of  doom,  his 
sense  of  justice  is  so  dominant ;  Isaiah's  doom  and  hope  sweep  on 
in  majestic  current,  splendid,  but  cold  at  times,  or  else  again,  a 

1  Jeremiah  6  6~13.  Translation  of  C.  F.  Kent,  in  Sermons,  Epistles, 
and  Apocalypses  of  Israel's  Prophets,  p.  184. 


REAWAKENING  OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH'S  REIGN     199 

consuming  fire ;  never  restrained  by  tender  sympathy ;  Jeremiah 
would  not  utter  words  that  separate  him  from  the  understanding 
and  companionship  of  everyday  men,  but  a  burning  fire  within 
compels  hun  to  be  a  prophet  against  his  will. 

Understanding,  as  Jeremiah  does,  that  the  transformation  of 
society  is  inwardly  conditioned,  its  purification  seems  hopeless 
even  to  the  young  man. 

They  are  all  grievous  revolters,  going  about  with  slanders ; 

They  are  brass  and  iron ;  they  all  of  them  deal  corruptly. 

The  bellows  blow  fiercely ;  the  lead  is  consumed  of  the  fire : 

In  vain  do  they  go  on  refining ;  for  the  wicked  are  not  plucked  away. 

Refuse  silver  shall  men  call  them,  because  Jehovah  hath  rejected  them.1 

The  preaching  of  Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah  must  have  helped 
prepare  the  way  for  the  reform  of  Josiah,  undertaken  five  years 
after  the  beginning  of  Jeremiah's  ministry.  What  part,  if  any, 
these  prophets  may  have  taken  in  the  actual  reform  movement  is 
a  question  that  we  cannot  solve.  In  the  history  of  Josiah's  reign, 
as  given  in  Kings,  no  mention  is  made  of  either  prophet,  and  no 
internal  evidence  leads  to  the  dating  of  any  of  their  extant  mes- 
sages in  the  period  of  the  Deuteronomic  reform,  except  the  passage 
of  Jeremiah  11 1~8. 

The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  from  Jehovah,  saying,  Hear  ye  the 
words  of  this  covenant,  and  speak  unto  the  men  of  Judah,  and  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem ;  and  say  thou  unto  them,  Thus  saith  Jehovah 
the  God  of  Israel :  Cursed  be  the  man  that  heareth  not  the  words  of  this 
covenant,  which  I  commanded  your  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  brought 
them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  iron  furnace,  saying, 
Obey  my  voice,  and  do  them,  according  to  all  which  I  command  you: 
so  shall  ye  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your  God ;  that  I  may  establish 
the  oath  which  I  sware  unto  your  fathers,  to  give  them  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,  as  at  this  day.  Then  answered  I,  and  said,  Amen,  0 
Jehovah. 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  Proclaim  all  these  words  in  the  cities  of 
Judah,  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  saying,  Hear  ye  the  words  of  this 
covenant,  and  do  them.  For  I  earnestly  protested  unto  your  fathers  in 
the  day  that  I  brought  them  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  even  unto  this 
day,  rising  early  and  protesting,  saying,  Obey  my  voice.  Yet  they  obeyed 

1  Jeremiah  6  »-30. 


200  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

not,  nor  inclined  their  ear,  but  walked  every  one  in  the  stubbornness  of 
their  evil  heart:  therefore  I  brought  upon  them  all  the  words  of  this 
covenant,  which  I  commanded  them  to  do,  but  they  did  them  not. 

This  seems  like  an  account  of  Jeremiah's  preaching  Deuteronomy 
in  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  of  Judah.  The  reference  to  the 
covenant  commanded  the  fathers  in  the  day  that  they  were  brought 
up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  and  to  the  curse  upon  him  that  hears 
not  the  words  of  this  covenant  seems  to  refer  to  Deuteronomy. 

If  the  passage  be  rightly  interpreted  and  authentic,  Jeremiah 
entered  into  the  reform  of  Josiah  and  became  a  preacher  of  Deu- 
teronomy. To  some,  the  thought  that  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
with  his  insight  into  the  inner  conditions  of  true  reform,  took 
such  part  in  this  religious  reform  by  royal  authority  is  absurd. 
On  the  other  hand  it  seems  that  Jeremiah  might  be  glad  to  see 
the  temptations  connected  with  the  local  high  places  diminished 
by  their  destruction,  and  there  is  assuredly  much  in  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy  in  its  appeal  to  the  love  of  God  and  remembrance  of 
his  past  mercies  that  is  in  closest  accord  with  the  early  preaching 
of  Jeremiah.1  In  the  large  amount  of  discourse  and  biographical 
material  from  Jeremiah  there  is  almost  no  other  clear  reference 
to  the  Deuteronomic  reform.  Either  the  prophet's  activity  was 
rather  small  in  this  connection,  or,  when  he  caused  his  memoirs 
to  be  written,  after  Josiah's  death,  he  did  not  care  to  retain  much 
that  concerned  this  period  of  his  life.  It  is  certain  that  in  the 
later  years  of  his  ministry  he  fully  understood  the  temporary 
character  of  a  reform  based  on  exhortation  to  obey  the  law. 

We  know  almost  nothing  of  Jeremiah's  activity  during  the  years 
from  621  till  Josiah's  death  in  609.  They  were  years  of  peace 
and  prosperity  such  as  Judah  had  not  known  for  more  than  a 
century,  and  they  were  years  in  which  the  nation,  at  least  out- 
wardly, was  observing  a  law  which  combined  much  that  was  best 
in  the  priestly  and  prophetic  elements  of  its  religion. 

At  the  close  of  this  period,  the  movements  of  the  great  nations 
once  more  began  to  affect  the  little  Judean  state.  The  Medes 
from  the  northeast  of  Assyria,  and  the  Chaldeans  on  the  south, 

1  Even  though  the  narrative  of  11  1'8  may  not  have  been  written  at 
Jeremiah's  dictation,  it  may  still  contain  an  authentic  tradition. 


REAWAKENING   OF  PROPHECY  IN  JOSIAH'S  REIGN    201 

were  renewing  their  attacks  on  Nineveh,  whose  territory  had  been 
so  ravaged  by  the  Scythians  a  few  years  before.  This  in  itself  could 
bring  only  satisfaction  to  the  Hebrews ;  the  foe  that  had  so  merci- 
lessly oppressed  is  now  about  to  receive  the  wages  of  cruel  ambition. 
The  brief  prophecy  of  Nahum  shows  how  one  prophet,  who 
believed  in  the  righteous  vengeance  of  Jehovah,  welcomed  the 
prospect  of  Nineveh's  fall.  "I  will  break  his  yoke  from  off  thee 
and  will  burst  thy  bonds  in  sunder,"  *  he  cries.  With  a  riot  of 
lurid  color,  he  paints  the  siege  and  downfall  of  Nineveh,  as  though 
already  accomplished,  that  den  of  the  lions. and  feeding  place  of 
the  young  lions,  where  the  lion  and  the  lioness  walked,  the  lion's 
whelp,  and  none  made  them  afraid.2  Within  the  city, 

In  the  streets,  the  chariots  are  mad ; 

They  rush  to  and  fro  in  the  squares. 

Their  appearance  is  as  torches ; 

As  lightnings  they  dart. 

The  besiegers  are  without  the  city; 

They  haste  to  its  wall, 

The  mantlet  is  prepared. 

The  river  gates  are  opened, 

The  palace  crumbles.3 

The  prophet  hears,  with  inner  ear,  the  actual  din  of  the  siege 
and  reports  with  words  that  echo  it  to-day. 

Sound  of  whip  and  sound  of  rattling  wheel, 

And  galloping  horse,  and  bounding  chariot. 

Horseman  mounting, 

And  flame  of  sword,  and  flash  of  spear. 

Many  slain ;  a  mass  of  corpses  ; 

And  no  end  to  the  carcasses. 

They  stumble  on  the  carcasses.4 

Ironically  Nahum  calls  upon  the  Assyrians  to  prepare  for  the 
siege :  — 

Draw  thee  water  for  the  siege ;  strengthen  thy  fortresses ;  go  into  the 
clay,  and  tread  the  mortar ;  make  strong  the  brickkiln.5 

Then  he  triumphantly  promises  them :  — 

1  Nahum  1  ".  2  2  ".  3  2  4-  5.  4  3  2-8a.  B  3  ". 


202  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

There  shall  the  fire  devour  thee ;  the  sword  shall  cut  thee  off ;  it  shall 
devour  thee  like  the  canker-worm :  make  thyself  many  as  the  canker- 
worm  ;  make  thyself  many  as  the  locust.3 

Nahum  was  unexcelled  as  a  word  painter.  It  is  possible  to  make 
this  sweeping  statement,  though  he  has  left  us  only  a  tract  of  five 
pages. 

The  first  chapter  has  no  definite  references  to  Nineveh;  it  is 
a  general  song  of  praise  to  the  avenging  Jehovah.  It  shows  some 
signs  of  having  been  designed  originally  as  an  alphabetic  poem, 
the  successive  lines  beginning  with  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in 
order.  Though  the  text  seems  to  be  in  much  confusion,  it  is  clear 
that  it  was  an  effective  psalm.  It  probably  began, 

A  requiting  God  is  Jehovah ; 
He  avengeth  and  is  lord  of  wrath. 
In  wind  and  storm  is  his  way, 
And  clouds  are  the  dust  of  his  feet. 
He  rebuketh  the  sea,  and  dries  it, 
And  all  rivers  he  makes  run  dry.2 

Whether  this  psalm  was  written  by  Nahum  as  a  prelude  to  his 
more  specific  prophecy  or  was  prefixed  by  some  other  hand  as  an 
appropriate  introduction  to  his  brief  discourse,  we  cannot  say. 
In  any  case,  Nahum  adds  nothing  to  the  body  of  prophetic  truth 
and  reaches  only  the  lower  levels  of  the  common  thought.  With 
the  sin  and  real  needs  of  his  people  he  does  not  deal.  The  ap- 
proaching downfall  of  the  cruel  enemy,  that  had  obliterated  the 
northern  nation  and  held  the  southern  long  in  vassalage,  as  the 
act  of  a  requiting  God  fills  his  vision. 

In  Egypt,  the  Pharaoh  was  anticipating  the  partition  of  the 
Assyrian  domain,  and  so  he  marched  across  Palestine,  on  his  way 
to  the  Euphrates  to  annex  as  much  as  he  might  be  able.  Josiah, 
who  had  assumed  the  rule  over  the  old  northern  territory  since 
the  Assyrian  domination  had  been  relaxed,  disputed  the  passage 
of  the  Egyptians  and  encountered  them  near  where  the  great 
battle  had  been  fought  in  Deborah's  day.  The  Pharaoh  was 
victorious,  and  Judah's  noble  king  met  his  death. 

1  3  1B.        2  Translation  based  on  the  revised  text  of  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

NABRATIVE   WRITING   FROM   THE   TIME   OF  AMOS  TO   THE   PUBLICA- 
TION  OF  DEUTERONOMY 

(750  to  621  B.C.) 

LITERARY  analysis  has  undertaken  to  show  that  many  parts  of 
the  great  Judean  History  of  Antiquity,  discussed  in  Chapter  V 
as  the  product  of  the  ninth  century  B.C.,  could  not  have  been 
written  quite  as  early  as  that  time.  There  is  nothing  inherently 
improbable  hi  the  view  that  this  great  narrative  was  revised  and 
enlarged  from  time  to  time ;  indeed,  our  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  Old  Testament  literature  and  of  other  ancient  literatures  makes 
it  highly  probable  that  such  was  the  case.  Ancient  historical 
narratives  grew,  not  only  by  being  brought  down  to  date  and 
extended  backward,  but  by  the  insertion  of  kindred  material  as  it 
came  to  light. 

The  purpose  of  the  present  volume  does  not  make  it  desirable  to 
follow  the  delicate  and  often  uncertain  analysis  of  the  Judean 
history  into  the  earlier  and  later  strands.  If  called  upon  to  name 
a  date  for  the  actual  completion  of  the  Judean  history,  it  will  be 
hi  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  rather  than  hi  the  ninth, 
yet  the  later  work  is  merely  supplementary,  and  it  is  better  to 
think  of  the  Judean  history  as  the  literary  product  of  the  ninth 
century,  when  it  took  shape  and  character. 

Much  the  same  may  be  said  concerning  the  Ephraimite  History 
of  Antiquity.  It  had  taken  definite  form  before  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century  and  yet  it  too  was  largely  supplemented  during  the 
next  one  hundred  years.  How  this  could  have  gone  on  after  the 
downfall  of  Northern  Israel  it  is  difficult  to  see,  except  as  we  recall 
the  probability  that  during  the  twenty  years  of  anarchy  preceding 
721  B.C.,  many  faithful  worshippers  of  Jehovah  took  refuge  in 
Judah.1  Literary  analysis  certainly  seems  to  find  satisfactory  evi- 

1  See  Chapter  IX,  p.  138. 
203 


204  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

dence  that  the  great  Ephraimite  history  continued  to  grow  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  after  the  fall  of  Samaria  and  the  partial  repop- 
ulation  of  its  territory  with  heathen  peoples.  This  growth  was 
probably  the  work  of  those  who  took  refuge  in  Judah  before  or 
after  the  fall  of  Samaria. 

The  revision  of  the  two  great  histories  was  checked  only  by  the 
compilation  of  the  two  into  one.  This  seems  to  have  occurred 
about  the  third  quarter  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  Manasseh  or  early  part  of  that  of  Josiah,  not 
long  before  the  publication  of  Deuteronomy.  Apparently  the 
writer  of  Deuteronomy  5-11  had  before  him  both  this  composite 
work  and  the  separate  Ephraimite  history.1  The  compilation 
generally  made  the  Judean  history  the  framework  and  inwove  the 
Ephraimite  material  with  this.  Only  the  Judean  history  was 
available  for  the  pre-Abramic  period.  With  the  promise  of  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  Abram  the  first  material  from  the  Ephraimite 
history  appears.  Here  the  method  of  the  compiler  was  close 
interweaving  of  the  two  accounts.  From  the  Judean  history  fol- 
lowed the  story  of  the  birth  of  Ishmael  and  flight  of  Hagar,  the 
visit  of  the  angels,  promise  of  Isaac,  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  and  the  incestuous  origin  of  Moab  and  Ammon.  Then, 
from  the  Ephraimite  history  was  taken  the  story  of  Abraham's 
sojourn  in  Gerar  with  the  taking  of  Sarah  by  king  Abimelech  — 
the  story  so  like  that  of  the  Egyptian  sojourn  recorded  in  the 
Judean  history  (Genesis  12ia~20).  After  this  follows  the  Ephraim- 
ite account  of  the  driving  out  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael,  evidently 
a  variant  account  of  that  already  taken  from  the  Judean  history. 
From  the  Ephraimite  document  comes  also  the  principal  narrative 
of  the  Beer-sheba  covenant  with  Abimelech,  although  some 
elements  from  the  Judean  history  appear  here  interwoven.  The 
testing  of  Abraham  in  the  matter  of  offering  Isaac  was  next 
inserted  from  the  Ephraimite  story,  and  thus  the  compilation  went 
forward,  sometimes  with  the  two  accounts  of  some  events  closely 
interwoven;  sometimes  with  an  incident  or  series  of  incidents 
taken  out  of  one  history,  with  no  interwoven  material  from  the 
other;  sometimes  with  a  narrative  which  is  evidently  a  doublet  of 
one  taken  from  the  other  history,  but  with  a  different  setting  and 

1  See  Cornill,  Introduction  Old  Testament,  p.  140. 


NARRATIVE  WRITING  205 

different  details,  making  it  seem  another  incident.  At  times  the 
band  of  the  editor  who  combined  the  two  may  be  seen  in  connecting 
phrases,  harmonistic  changes,  or  even  noticeable  expansions.  An 
example  of  the  last  is  found  in  22  ub-18. 

As  it  is  said  to  this  day,  In  the  mount  of  Jehovah  it  shall  be  provided. 
And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  called  unto  Abraham  a  second  tune  out  of  heaven, 
and  said,  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  Jehovah,  because  thou  hast  done 
this  thing,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  that  in  blessing 
I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars 
of  the  heavens,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore ;  and  thy  seed 
shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  be  blessed ;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice. 

As  the  work  goes  forward,  some  parts  show  more  independent 
work  on  the  part  of  the  editor  than  one  finds  in  Genesis.  Occa- 
sionally "the  narrative  is,  with  considerable  skill,  to  some  extent, 
'composed'  on  the  basis  of  the  sources" ; l  but  the  portion  of  the 
history  summarized  above  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  method  of 
compiling  followed  in  the  composition  of  the  great  history  of 
antiquity  from  the  union  of  the  northern  and  southern  documents. 

This  composite  narrative  contained  by  far  the  larger  part  of 
our  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers,  Joshua,  and  Judges,  but  it  was 
still  to  pass  through  further  editing  and  compiling  with  another 
great  document  before  it  assumed  the  form  hi  which  it  has  come 
down  to  us.  No  one  of  the  first  six  books  of  our  Bible  was  as  yet 
hi  anything  like  its  present  form  when  the  central  part  of  Deu- 
teronomy was  published  in  621  B.C.  If  this  edition  of  the  great 
prophetico-legal  writing  contained,  as  we  have  supposed,  chapters 
5-26  and  28,  though  it  lacked  1-4,  27,  and  29-34,  it  was  more 
nearly  our  present  book  than  was  any  other  book  of  the  Hexateuch. 

When  discussing  the  beginnings  of  connected  prose  writing, 
the  early  Saul  stories,  early  David-Saul  stories,  and  stories  of 
David's  court  and  family  life  were  separated  from  the  remaining 
material  of  1  and  2  Samuel.  There  remain,  after  this  analysis, 
large  portions  of  1  Samuel  and  small  parts  of  2  Samuel,  which  offer 
puzzling  problems  for  the  literary  critic.  To  some  the  material 
seems  strongly  influenced  by  Deuteronomy,  and  so  to  have  taken 

1  Cornill,  Introduction  Old  Testament,  p.  139. 


206  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

form  after  621.  On  the  other  hand  there  appear  marked  affinities 
to  the  Ephraimite  history  of  the  earlier  centuries,  and  the  view 
seems  consistent  that  a  large  part  of  this  material  is  to  be  asso- 
ciated closely  with  the  late  portions  of  this  history.  It  would  then 
be  so  nearly  contemporary  with  Deuteronomy  that  it  might 
naturally  show  many  affinities  without  being  directly  influenced 
by  Deuteronomy.  We  may  therefore  discuss  the  latest  document 
used  by  the  compiler  of  1  and  2  Samuel  as  a  product  of  the  seventh 
century,  written  prior  to  the  publication  of  Deuteronomy. 

In  the  early  Saul  stories,  Samuel  appeared  as  a  local  seer  who 
recognized  in  Saul  the  possible  leader  of  a  united  movement 
against  Philistine  domination.  As  a  prophet,  he  anointed  Saul 
and  brought  him  into  touch  with  the  religio-patriotic  enthusiasts, 
the  sons  of  the  prophets,  who  first  appear  in  Israel's  history  at 
this  crisis.  Thus,  in  the  cycle  of  stories  which  probably  took 
permanent  form  in  Saul's  tribe  of  Benjamin,  Samuel  appears  as  the 
enlightened  patriot,  to  whose  sagacity  and  private  initiative  the 
monarchy  is  due.  Still,  he  is  known  to  only  a  small  part  of  Israel, 
and  the  popular  acclaim  is  for  Saul  and  David.  The  picture  is 
simple,  natural,  and  in  harmony  with  the  conditions  of  Israel  as 
revealed  in  other  early  sources. 

Later  tradition  in  Ephraim  could  not  rest  content  with  such  a 
noble  but  relatively  obscure  r61e  for  this  great  representative  of 
the  tribe.  So  there  grew  up  a  Samuel  tradition  which  made  him 
a  prophet,  more  like  Elijah  and  Isaiah  in  assumption  of  continued 
supervision  over  the  throne,  and,  growing  beyond  this,  even  repre- 
sented him  as  a  great  military  leader  or  judge  who  commanded 
a  united  Israel  against  the  Philistines  before  Saul  was  ever  heard 
of,  and  who  won  such  successes  that  the  early  struggle  of  Saul 
is  quite  inexplicable,  if  not  wholly  unnecessary. 

Then  came  the  word  of  Jehovah  unto  Samuel,  saying,  It  repenteth 
me  that  I  have  set  up  Saul  to  be  king ;  for  he  is  turned  back  from  following 
me,  and  hath  not  performed  my  commandments.  And  Samuel  was  wroth ; 
and  he  cried  unto  Jehovah  all  night.  And  Samuel  rose  early  to  meet 
Saul  in  the  morning;  and  it  was  told  Samuel,  saying,  Saul  came  to  Car- 
mel,  and,  behold,  he  set  him  up  a  monument,  and  turned,  and  passed  on, 
and  went  down  to  Gilgal.  And  Samuel  came  to  Saul;  and  Saul  said 
unto  him,  Blessed  be  thou  of  Jehovah :  I  have  performed  the  command- 


NARRATIVE  WRITING  207 

merit  of  Jehovah.  And  Samuel  said,  What  meaneth  then  this  bleating  of 
the  sheep  in  mine  ears,  and  the  lowing  of  the  oxen  which  I  hear?  And 
Saul  said,  They  have  brought  them  from  the  Amalekites:  for  the  people 
spared  the  best  of  the  sheep  and  of  the  oxen,  to  sacrifice  unto  Jehovah 
thy  God ;  and  the  rest  we  have  utterly  destroyed.  Then  Samuel  said  unto 
Saul,  Stay,  and  I  will  tell  thee  what  Jehovah  hath  said  to  me  this  night. 
And  he  said  unto  him,  Say  on. 

And  Samuel  said,  Though  thou  wast  little  in  thine  own  sight,  wast  thou 
not  made  the  head  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  ?  And  Jehovah  anointed  thee 
king  over  Israel;  and  Jehovah  sent  thee  on  a  journey,  and  said,  Go, 
and  utterly  destroy  the  sinners  the  Amalekites,  and  fight  against  them  until 
they  be  consumed.  Wherefore  then  didst  thou  not  obey  the  voice  of 
Jehovah,  but  didst  fly  upon  the  spoil,  and  didst  that  which  was  evil  in  the 
sight  of  Jehovah?  And  Saul  said  unto  Samuel,  Yea,  I  have  obeyed  the 
voice  of  Jehovah,  and  have  gone  the  way  which  Jehovah  sent  me,  and 
have  brought  Agag  the  king  of  Amalek,  and  have  utterly  destroyed  the 
Amalekites.  But  the  people  took  of  the  spoil,  sheep  and  oxen,  the  chief  of 
the  devoted  things,  to  sacrifice  unto  Jehovah  thy  God  in  Gilgal.  And 
Samuel  said,  Hath  Jehovah  as  great  delight  in  burnt-offerings  and 
sacrifices,  as  hi  obeying  the  voice  of  Jehovah  ?  Behold,  to  obey  is  better 
than  sacrifice,  and  to  harken  than  the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebellion  is  as  the 
sin  of  witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  idolatry  and  teraphim.  Because 
thou  hast  rejected  the  word  of  Jehovah,  he  hath  also  rejected  thee  from 
being  king. 

And  Saul  said  unto  Samuel,  I  have  sinned;  for  I  have  transgressed 
the  commandment  of  Jehovah,  and  thy  words,  because  I  feared  the  people, 
and  obeyed  their  voice. 

And  Samuel  said,  Gather  all  Israel  to  Mizpah,  and  I  will  pray  for 
you  unto  Jehovah.  And  they  gathered  together  to  Mizpah,  and  drew 
water,  and  poured  it  out  before  Jehovah,  and  fasted  on  that  day,  and 
said  there,  We  have  sinned  against  Jehovah.  And  Samuel  judged  the 
children  of  Israel  in  Mizpah.  And  when  the  Philistines  heard  that 
the  children  of  Israel  were  gathered  together  to  Mizpah,  the  lords  of 
the  Philistines  went  up  against  Israel.  And  when  the  children  of  Israel 
heard  it,  they  were  afraid  of  the  Philistines.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
said  to  Samuel,  Cease  not  to  cry  unto  Jehovah  our  God  for  us,  that  he 
will  save  us  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines.  And  Samuel  took  a  suck- 
ing lamb,  and  offered  it  for  a  whole  burnt-offering  unto  Jehovah:  and 
Samuel  cried  unto -Jehovah  for  Israel ;  and  Jehovah  answered  him.  And 
as  Samuel  was  offering  up  the  burnt-offering,  the  Philistines  drew  near  to 

1 1  Samuel  15  »«-*«. 


208  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

battle  against  Israel ;  but  Jehovah  thundered  with  a  great  thunder  on  that 
day  upon  the  Philistines,  and  discomfited  them ;  and  they  were  smitten 
down  before  Israel.  And  the  men  of  Israel  went  out  of  Mizpah,  and 
pursued  the  Philistines,  and  smote  them,  until  they  came  under 
Bethcar. 

Then  Samuel  took  a  stone,  and  set  it  between  Mizpah  and  Shen,  and 
called  the  name  of  it  Ebenezer,  saying,  Hitherto  hath  Jehovah  helped 
us.  So  the  Philistines  were  subdued,  and  they  came  no  more  within 
the  border  of  Israel:  and  the  hand  of  Jehovah  was  against  the  Philistines 
all  the  days  of  Samuel.  And  the  cities  which  the  Philistines  had  taken 
from  Israel  were  restored  to  Israel,  from  Ekron  even  unto  Gath ;  and  the 
border  thereof  did  Israel  deliver  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines.  And 
there  was  peace  between  Israel  and  the  Amorites. 

And  Samuel  judged  Israel  all  the  days  of  his  life.  And  he  went  from 
year  to  year  in  circuit  to  Bethel,  and  Gilgal,  and  Mizpah ;  and  he  judged 
Israel  in  all  those  places.  And  his  return  was  to  Ramah,  for  there  was  his 
house;  and  there  he  judged  Israel;  and  he  built  there  an  altar  unto 
Jehovah.1 

Samuel  looms  large  in  this  later  tradition  of  his  own  tribe, 
but  his  work  is  far  less  truly  noble  and  significant  than  in  the 
early  Saul  story.  No  longer  is  he  the  real  founder  of  the  mon- 
archy, a  true  prophet  and  patriot  whose  enlightened  vision  sees  the 
need  of  his  generation,  who  is  able,  in  his  own  obscure  place,  to 
direct  the  rising  tide  of  popular  dissatisfaction  into  channels  that 
make  possible  independence  of  Philistia  and  a  united  kingdom, 
and  that  advance  the  people  far  toward  the  possibility  of  ultimate 
monotheistic  religion. 

In  the  later  tradition,  he  is  a  highly  successful  ruler,  deeply 
opposed  to  the  establishment  of  a  formal  monarchy,  himself  de 
facto  king.  After  a  special  revelation  from  God,  he  gives  assent 
to  the  selection  of  a  king,  but  warns  the  people  of  dreadful  evils 
to  follow  their  folly.  This  was  a  view  of  the  monarchy  natural 
for  those  whose  vision  was  filled  by  its  evils  developed  under 
Solomon,  Ahab,  and  the  succession  of  assassin  kings  who  ruled 
Israel  after  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  With  a  longer  perspective, 
we  cannot  question  that  the  monarchy  was  a  great  blessing  to 
Israel,  in  contrast  with  the  loose  tribal  organization  and  rude 
conditions  that  preceded.  The  genuine  Samuel  of  the  early 

1  1  Samuel  7  &~17. 


NARRATIVE  WRITING  209 

tradition  so  recognized  it,  and,  as  a  true  prophet,  worked  with  the 
best  available  human  instruments  and  made  it  possible. 

Not  only  is  the  Samuel  of  the  later  history  less  noble  and  his 
work  less  significant,  the  narratives  themselves  lack  much  of  the 
charm  of  those  of  the  earlier  day.  This  later  Samuel  document 
is,  from  the  literary  point  of  view,  a  transition  one  between  the 
great  age  of  stories  and  the  era  when  prose  writers  are  to  be 
dominated  by  hard-and-fast  theories  of  how  things  must  have 
happened  in  accordance  with  certain  theological  dogmas.  The 
new  tendency  has  not  reached  its  development  hi  the  later  Samuel 
stories,  which  have  much  of  the  naturalness  and  beauty  of  the 
earlier  age,  yet  a  cold,  withering  hand  is  laid  upon  literature  when 
stories  are  no  longer  told  for  their  simple  human  interest,  but  to 
illustrate  and  teach  certain  theories. 

In  the  earlier  stories,  a  childlike  faith  in  God's  guidance  of 
human  affairs  and  a  sound  moral  sense  gave  moral  and  religious 
significance  to  the  narratives  without,  as  we  have  so  often  noted, 
any  obtrusion  of  the  lesson.  In  these  later  Samuel  stories,  a 
developed  and  formal  theory  of  God's  control  of  human  affairs 
is  already  in  evidence.  Deep  earnestness  and  conviction  lend 
their  dignity  to  the  literature,  but  one  who  looks  at  the  narrative 
purely  from  the  literary  point  of  view  feels  the  change.  It  is 
especially  noticeable  hi  the  barren  and  unnatural  story  of  Samuel's 
victory  over  the  Philistines  and  the  long  account  of  the  rejec- 
tion of  Saul,  both  of  which  were  printed  above.  The  elabo- 
rate discourse  attributed  to  Samuel  is  another  example.  It 
begins :  — 

And  Samuel  said  unto  all  Israel,  Behold,  I  have  hearkened  unto  your 
voice  in  all  that  ye  said  unto  me,  and  have  made  a  king  over  you.  And 
now,  behold,  the  king  walketh  before  you ;  and  I  am  old  and  grayheaded  ; 
and,  behold,  my  sons  are  with  you  and  I  have  walked  before  you  from 
my  youth  unto  this  day.  Here  I  am :  witness  against  me  before  Jehovah, 
and,  before  his  anointed :  whose  ox  have  I  taken  ?  or  whose  ass  have  I 
taken?  or  whom  have  I  defrauded?  whom  I  have  oppressed?  or  of 
whose  hand  have  I  taken  a  ransom  to  blind  mine  eyes  therewith  ?  and  I 
will  restore  it  you.  And  they  said,  Thou  hast  not  defraudest  us,  nor  op- 
pressed us,  neither  hast  thou  taken  aught  of  any  man's  hand.  And  he 
said  unto  them,  Jehovah  is  witness  against  you,  and  his  anointed  is  witness 


210  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

this  day,  that  ye  have  not  found  aught  in  my  hand.    And  they  said,  He 
is  witness. 

And  Samuel  said  unto  the  people,  It  is  Jehovah  that  appointed  Moses 
and  Aaron,  and  that  brought  your  fathers  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 
Now  therefore  stand  still,  that  I  may  plead  with  you  before  Jehovah  con- 
cerning all  the  righteous  acts  of  Jehovah,  which  he  did  to  you  and  to  your 
fathers.  When  Jacob  was  come  into  Egypt,  and  your  fathers  cried  unto 
Jehovah,  then  Jehovah  sent  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  brought  forth  your 
fathers  out  of  Egypt,  and  made  them  to  dwell  in  this  place.  But  they 
forgat  Jehovah  their  God;  and  he  sold  them  into  the  hand  of  Sisera, 
captain  of  the  host  of  Hazor,  and  into  the  hand  of  the  Philistines,  and  into 
the  hand  of  the  king  of  Moab;  and  they  fought  against  them.  And 
they  cried  unto  Jehovah,  and  said,  We  have  sinned,  because  we  have  for- 
saken Jehovah,  and  have  served  the  Baalim  and  the  Ashtaroth:  but 
now  deliver  us  out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies,  and  we  will  serve  thee. 
And  Jehovah  sent  Jerubbaal,  and  Bedan,  and  Jephthah,  and  Samuel, 
and  delivered  you  out  of  the  hand  of  your  enemies  on  every  side ;  and  ye 
dwelt  in  safety.1 

In  contrast  to  the  qualities  represented  in  the  more  extreme 
examples  cited,  the  story  of  the  child  Samuel  is  highly  attractive, 
yet  the  swift  movement  of  an  earlier  age  has  disappeared,  the 
dialogue  is  less  natural  than  in  earlier  times,  and  the  real  working 
out  of  events  is  obscured  by  an  artificial  conception. 

And  the  child  Samuel  ministered  unto  Jehovah  before  Eli.  And  the 
word  of  Jehovah  was  precious  in  those  days;  there  was  no  frequent 
vision.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that  time,  when  Eli  was  laid  down  in 
his  place  (now  his  eyes  had  begun  to  wax  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see), 
and  the  lamp  of  God  was  not  yet  gone  out,  and  Samuel  was  laid  down  to 
sleep,  in  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  where  the  ark  of  God  was ;  that  Jehovah 
called  Samuel:  and  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  ran  unto  Eli,  and  said, 
Here  am  I ;  for  thou  calledst  me.  And  he  said,  I  called  not ;  lie  down 
again.  And  he  went  and  lay  down.  And  Jehovah  called  yet  again, 
Samuel.  And  Samuel  arose  and  went  to  Eli,  and  said,  Here  am  I ;  for 
thou  calledst  me.  And  he  answered,  I  called  not,  my  son;  lie  down 
again.  Now  Samuel  did  not  yet  know  Jehovah,  neither  was  the  word  of 
Jehovah  yet  revealed  unto  him.  And  Jehovah  called  Samuel  again  the 
third  time.  And  he  arose  and  went  to  Eli,  and  said,  Here  am  I ;  for  thou 
calledst  me.  And  Eli  perceived  that  Jehovah  had  called  the  child. 

1 1  Samuel  12  »-«. 


NARRATIVE  WRITING  211 

Therefore  Eli  said  unto  Samuel,  Go,  lie  down :  and  it  shall  be,  if  he  call 
thee,  that  thou  shalt  say,  Speak,  Jehovah ;  for  thy  servant  heareth.  So 
Samuel  went  and  lay  down  hi  his  place. 

And  Jehovah  came,  and  stood,  and  called  as  at  other  tunes,  Samuel, 
Samuel.  Then  Samuel  said,  Speak;  for  thy  servant  heareth.  And  Je- 
hovah said  to  Samuel,  Behold,  I  will  do  a  thing  in  Israel,  at  which  both 
the  ears  of  every  one  that  heareth  it  shall  tingle.  In  that  day  I  will  per- 
form against  Eli  all  that  I  have  spoken  concerning  his  house,  from  the 
beginning  even  unto  the  end.  For  I  have  told  him  that  I  will  judge  his 
house  for  ever,  for  the  iniquity  which  he  knew,  because  his  sons  did  bring 
a  curse  upon  themselves,  and  he  restrained  them  not.  And  therefore 

1  have  sworn  unto  the  house  of  Eli,  that  the  iniquity  of  Eli's  house  shall 
not  be  expiated  with  sacrifice  nor  offering  for  ever. 

And  Samuel  lay  until  the  morning,  and  opened  the  doors  of  the  house 
of  Jehovah.  And  Samuel  feared  to  show  Eli  the  vision.  Then  Eli 
called  Samuel,  and  said,  Samuel,  my  son.  And  he  said,  Here  am  I. 
And  he  said,  What  is  the  thing  that  Jehovah  hath  spoken  unto  thee  ?  I 
pray  thee,  hide  it  not  from  me :  God  do  so  to  thee,  and  more  also,  if  thou 
hide  anything  from  me  of  all  the  things  that  he  spake  unto  thee.  And 
Samuel  told  him  every  whit,  and  hid  nothing  from  him.  And  he  said,  It 
is  Jehovah :  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good.1 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  how  soon  the  later  Samuel  history 
was  compiled  with  the  earlier  groups  of  stories.  Possibly  they 
were  inwoven  almost  immediately.  If  this  is  the  case,  the  death 
of  David,  now  recorded  in  1  Kings,  was  included  in  the  com- 
posite work  and  the  miscellaneous  material  of  2  Samuel  21-24, 
which  interrupts  the  dramatic  story  of  David's  court  and  family 
life,  was  inserted  in  its  present  place  by  the  later  editors  who 
compiled  the  books  of  Kings  and  gave  the  finishing  touches  to 
Samuel.  In  the  composition  the  material  was  so  arranged  that 
the  later  picture,  representing  Samuel  as  the  recognized  leader  of 
all  Israel,  was  given  priority,  and  quite  obscured  the  earlier  and 
nobler  picture  of  the  true  founder  of  the  Hebrew  kingdom. 

The  earlier  and  later  groups  of  stories  are  combined  with  only 
very  slight  harmonistic  touches  until  the  summary  of  David's  reign, 

2  Samuel  8.     From  this  point  forward  the  early  narrative    of 
David's  court  and  family  life  stands  almost  without    alteration 
or  interruption. 

1 1  Samuel  3  1-18. 


CHAPTER  XV 

PROPHECY  FROM  THE   DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE 

Jeremiah,  Habakkuk 

(608  to  586  B.C.) 

AFTER  the  death  of  Josiah  the  kingdom  fell  temporarily  under 
the  sway  of  Egypt,  and  Pharaoh-Necho  decided  which  of  the  Judean 
princes  should  rule  as  vassal  king.  The  ruler  selected,  Jehoiakim, 
was  distinctly  hostile  to  the  spirit  and  policy  of  his  father;  his 
reign  was  marked  by  the  backrush  of  all  the  heathen  practices 
which  had  been  driven  out.  Egypt  remained  suzerain  only  four 
or  five  years,  and  then  the  Babylonian  Nebuchadrezzar,  who  had 
defeated  the  Egyptians  in  a  decisive  battle,  became  ruler  of 
Palestine.  For  a  time  Jehoiakim  paid  tribute,  but  after  a  few 
years,  trusting  to  Egypt  for  help,  he  undertook  to  throw  off  the 
Babylonian  rule.  Jehoiakim  himself  died  in  time  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  his  folly,  and  his  son  ruled  only  three  months 
when  the  Babylonian  army  was  before  Jerusalem.  The  new 
king,  surrendering  at  discretion,  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Babylon. 
With  him  were  taken  10,000  men,  besides  women  and  children,  the 
flower  of  the  little  state  —  nobles,  soldiers,  and  skilled  artisans. 
Thus  the  partial  exile  began  in  597  B.C.  In  Jerusalem  an  uncle  of 
the  captive  king,  a  son  of  Josiah,  was  placed  upon  the  throne  by 
the  Babylonians.  Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  little  devastated  state,  where  the  new  rulers  attributed 
their  exemption  from  deportation  to  the  special  favor  of  God,  and, 
after  a  few  years,  refused  the  Babylonian  tribute.  Jerusalem  stood 
a  long  siege,  but  in  586  B.C.  the  city  was  captured,  plundered,  and 
razed  to  the  ground;  the  brief,  impressive  statement  in  Kings 
is:  — 

And  he  burnt  the  house  of  Jehovah,  and  the  king's  house ;  and  all 
the  houses  of  Jerusalem,  even  every  great  man's  house  burnt  he  with 

212 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE      213 

fire.  And  all  the  army  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  were  with  the  captain  of 
the  guard,  brake  down  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  round  about.1 

A  few  thousand  more  were  now  deported  to  Babylonia,  so  that  in  all, 
men,  women,  and  children,  there  must  have  been  some  50,000 
Judeans  in  that  distant  region.  There  were  now  three  chief 
centres  of  Jewish  population,  for  many  had  fled  to  Egypt  in  the 
troublous  times,  and  many,  largely  the  peasantry,  were  left  in 
Judea. 

We  have  fuller  information  concerning  the  experiences  of  Jere- 
miah, during  the  next  twenty-three  years  after  the  death  of  Josiah, 
than  in  the  case  of  any  other  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets.  His 
teachings  during  this  period  have  been  preserved  mingled  with  a 
large  amount  of  biographical  and  historical  information.  It  is 
possible,  therefore,  to  gather  from  the  book  of  Jeremiah  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  inner  and  outer  life  of  the  prophet  and  the  intimate 
life  of  Jerusalem  during  the  years  608  to  586.  The  impression  of 
these  things  quite  overshadows  the  sermons  themselves  which 
generally  lack  the  literary  power  found  in  the  addresses  of  the 
eighth-century  prophets.  Jeremiah's  significance  lies  in  the 
insight  which  he  reached  in  the  later  years  of  his  ministry,  and  this 
insight  we  are  able  to  appreciate  as  we  follow  him  through  the  in- 
ner and  outer  struggles  incident  to  the  time  of  his  nation's  downfall. 

We  may  see  him  in  the  temple  court,  warning  the  worshippers 
who  have  come  thither  from  the  cities  of  Judah,  or  at  the  temple 
gate  denouncing  the  confidence  of  those  who  trust  in  the  sanctuary 
while  they  are  guilty  of  moral  and  religious  wrongs ;  we  may  see 
him  going  to  the  palace  to  address  king  and  nobles,  or  follow  him 
to  the  potter's  house,  where  he  will  learn  a  lesson  as  he  watches 
the  workman  change  his  plan  for  the  particular  vessel  to  be  made, 
or  again  we  may  go  out  with  him  to  the  valley  of  the  son  of  Hinnom 
by  the  east  gate,  whither  he  goes  to  shiver  in  pieces  an  earthen 
vessel,  before  a  gaping  crowd.  His  striking  sermon  of  judgment, 
preached  on  this  occasion,  gave  excuse  for  the  ruler  of  the  temple 
to  put  Jeremiah  in  the  public  stocks,  in  the  gate  of  Benjamin, 
which  was  by  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

In  the  case  of  most  prophets  who  delivered  their  message  orally, 
as  Jeremiah  did  his,  we  are  left  to  infer  how  it  came  to  be  written 

1 2  Kings  25  »~10. 


214  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

down.  The  confused  state,  for  example,  of  Isaiah's  oracles  strongly 
suggests  that  these  were  gathered  by  his  disciples,  after  his  death ; 
the  orderly  arrangement  of  Amos' s  memoirs,  on  the  other  hand, 
makes  it  probable  that  he  himself  put  the  substance  of  his  preach- 
ing into  permanent  form,  after  returning  from  his  Bethel  misson.  — 
All  this  is  inference.  In  the  case  of  Jeremiah  we  have  a  definite 
account  of  his  dictating  to  Baruch  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim, 
what  he  had  preached  during  the  twenty-two  years  of  his  ministry. 
When  King  Jehoiakim  contemptuously  cut  up  and  burned  this 
precious  book,  Jeremiah  had  it  rewritten  and  expanded  by  the 
addition  of  many  like  words.1 

This  second  and  enlarged  edition  of  Jeremiah's  oracles  must 
have  contained  the  inaugural  vision  and  early  addresses,  already 
discussed,  and  also  the  original  discourses  and  narratives  that 
connect  themselves  with  the  first  four  years  of  Jehoiakim's  reign. 
The  theme  of  this  little  roll  was  "Words  against  Israel,  Judah, 
and  all  the  nations";2  Jehoiakim's  reactionary  reign  certainly 
furnished  ample  occasion  for  oracles  of  this  character.  As  we 
examine  our  present  book  of  Jeremiah,  a  still  later  and  greatly 
enlarged  edition,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  always  which 
discourses  were  delivered  early  enough  in  Jehoiakim's  reign  to  be 
included  in  the  original  roll  written  in  the  fourth  year ;  probably 
a  comparatively  small  amount  of  material  outside  of  chapters 
1-17  belonged  to  this  collection. 

Jeremiah's  silence  during  the  later  years  of  Josiah's  reign3  is 
broken  with  his  lament  for  King  Jehoahaz  or  Shallum  whom  the 
people  had  chosen  to  succeed  Josiah.  Pharaoh-Necho  carried  the 
newly  appointed  king  in  bonds  to  Egypt,  and  Jeremiah  would  stay 
the  mourning  for  the  dead  king  with  thought  for  this  second  national 

loss. 

Weep  ye  not  for  the  dead ;  nor  mourn  for  him. 

Weep  sore  for  him  who  has  gone,  for  he  shall  not  return, 

To  see  the  land  of  his  nativity.4 

Soon  after  Jehoiakim's  reign  is  begun,  Josiah's  reform,  with  its 
destruction  of  the  high  places  and  enforcement  of  the  law,  is  as 
though  it  had  not  been. 

1  Jeremiah  36  l~32.  2  Jeremiah  36  2-  32. 

3  See  Chapter  XIII,  p.  200.      4  22  10. 


FROM  THE   DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE     215 

And  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  A  conspiracy  is  found  among  the  men  of 
Judah,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem.  They  are  turned  back 
to  the  iniquities  of  their  forefathers,  who  refused  to  hear  my  words ;  and 
they  are  gone  after  other  gods  to  serve  them ;  the  house  of  Israel  and  the 
house  of  Judah  have  broken  my  covenant  which  I  made  with  their  fathers. 

For  according  to  the  number  of  thy  cities  are  thy  gods,  0  Judah ;  and 
according  to  the  number  of  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  have  ye  set  up  altars 
to  the  shameful  thing,  even  altars  to  burn  incense  unto  Baal. 

And  Jehovah  saith,  Because  they  have  forsaken  my  law  which  I  set 
before  them,  and  have  not  obeyed  my  voice,  neither  walked  therein; 
but  have  walked  after  the  stubbornness  of  their  own  heart,  and  after  the 
Baalim,  which  their  fathers  taught  them.1 

Worship  of  the  Baals  and  other  deities  comes  sweeping  back.  — 

Will  ye  ...  burn  incense  unto  Baal,  and  walk  after  other  gods  that  ye 
have  not  known  ? 2  Why  have  they  provoked  me  to  anger  with  their 
graven  images  and  with  foreign  vanities  ? 3  They  shall  spread  them  be- 
fore the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven  which  they  have 
loved,  and  which  they  have  served,  and  after  which  they  have  walked, 
and  have  worshipped.4 

This  recognition  of  the  gods  of  Canaan  and  the  east  does  not  at 
all  mean  abandoning  orthodox  faith  in  Jehovah ;  the  prophets  have 
introduced  certain  rather  irreligious  notions  about  honesty  and 
purity  in  business  and  society  being  a  vital  part  of  religion.  All 
these  things  may  well  go  by  the  board  in  favor  of  the  older  religion 
which  trusted  in  Jehovah  as  the  god  of  Israel  who  would  not  permit 
his  people  to  be  destroyed,  and  which  properly  recognized  also  the 
power  and  claims  of  the  old  Canaanite  deities  and  of  the  gods  of 
the  great  conquering  peoples  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile ! 

Once  more  religious  conservatism  triumphed,  adding  to  itself 
such  newer  elements  as  were  assimilable  to  its  lower  aspects. 
Among  these  is  found  Isaiah's  teaching  that  Jehovah's  temple 
could  not  be  captured ;  this  fitted  well  with  the  older  ideas  that 
Amos  had  denounced,  and,  in  Jeremiah's  time,  it  had  become  an 
accepted  dogma.  Since  it  had  been  vindicated  in  Isaiah's  day  by 
the  catastrophe  and  incontinent  withdrawal  of  Sennacherib,  it 
was  now  erected  into  a  universal  truth.  That  which  was  a  vital 
1  Jeremiah  11,  ^^  «,  9 13> 14.  a  7  9.  3  8 19b.  4  8  2a. 


216  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

teaching  for  one  generation,  within  a  century  became  a  dogma, 
sacred  and  condemning  as  heresy  the  larger  truth  needed  by  the 
new  generation. 

Behold  ye  trust  in  lying  words,  that  cannot  profit.  Will  ye  steal, 
murder,  and  commit  adultery,  and  swear  falsely,  and  burn  incense  unto 
Baal,  and  walk  after  other  gods  that  ye  have  not  known,  and  come  and 
stand  before  me  in  this  house,  which  is  called  by  my  name  and  say,  We  are 
delivered;  that  ye  may  do  all  these  abominations?  Is  this  house,  which 
is  called  by  my  name,  become  a  den  of  robbers  in  your  eyes  ?  Behold, 
even  I  have  seen  it,  saith  Jehovah. 

But  go  ye  now  unto  my  place  which  was  in  Shiloh,  where  I  caused 
my  name  to  dwell  at  the  first,  and  see  what  I  did  to  it  for  the  wickedness 
of  my  people  Israel.  And  now,  because  ye  have  done  all  these  works, 
saith  Jehovah,  and  I  spake  unto  you,  rising  up  early  and  speaking,  but  ye 
heard  not ;  and  I  called  you,  but  ye  answered  not ;  therefore  will  I  do 
unto  the  house  which  is  called  by  my  name,  wherein  ye  trust,  and  unto  the 
place  which  I  gave  to  you  and  to  your  fathers,  as  I  did  to  Shiloh.  And  I 
will  cast  you  out  of  my  sight,  as  I  have  cast  out  all  your  brethren,  even 
the  whole  seed  of  Ephraim.1 

As  Amos  had  done,  so  this  prophet  appeals  from  present,  estab- 
lished religious  practice  and  doctrine  to  the  purer  days  of  the 
beginning  of  Israel's  religion. 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel:  Add  your  burnt- 
offerings  unto  your  sacrifices,  and  eat  ye  flesh.  For  I  spake  not  unto 
your  fathers,  nor  commanded  them  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  concerning  burnt-offerings  or  sacrifices:  but  this 
thing  I  commanded  them,  saying,  Hearken  unto  my  voice,  and  I  will  be 
your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  people ;  and  walk  ye  in  all  the  way  that  I 
command  you,  that  it  may  be  well  with  you.  But  they  hearkened  not, 
nor  inclined  their  ear,  but  walked  in  their  own  counsels  and  in  the  stub- 
bornness of  their  evil  heart,  and  went  backward,  and  not  forward.  Since 
the  day  that  your  fathers  came  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  unto  this 
day,  I  have  sent  unto  you  all  my  servants  the  prophets,  daily  rising  up 
early  and  sending  them:  yet  they  hearkened  not  unto  me,  nor  inclined  their 
ear,  but  made  their  neck  stiff:  they  did  worse  than  their  fathers.2 

Something  like  this  is  ever  the  recourse  of  the  prophet  when 
temporary  truths  become  erected  into  permanent  dogmas,  and 
1  Jeremiah  7  ***.  » Jeremiah  7  «"«. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE      217 

practices  of  worship  become,  through  long  custom,  sacred  ends  in 
themselves  —  Paul  appeals  from  Moses  to  the  spiritual  root  of 
all  Israel's  religion,  personal  faith  in  Jehovah  (Galatians  3  1-22) ; 
Luther  from  the  authoritative  church  of  his  day  to  Paul ;  the 
prophets  of  to-day  from  Luther,  Calvin,  Augustine,  and  the  rest 
to  Christ  and  to  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Covenant.  In  this,  the 
Christian  prophet  of  every  age  may  find  himself  at  one  in  spirit 
with  his  Master  who  recognized  the  necessarily  temporary  character 
of  particular  laws  and  went  back  of  them  to  that  which  was  funda- 
mental and  universal  (e.g.  Matthew  19  3~8).1 

Jeremiah's  messages  of  doom  cut  him  off  from  all  human  sym- 
pathy and  companionship.  Even  the  men  of  his  own  town,  the 
little  priestly  city  of  Anathoth,  conspired  against  his  life,  for- 
bidding him  to  preach  in  the  name  of  Jehovah.2 

Seeing  the  imminence  of  terrible  destruction,  the  prophet  felt  that 
he  must  not  take  a  wife  and  have  sons  and  daughters  to  die  by 
pestilence  or  be  consumed  by  sword  and  famine.3  As  living  witness 
to  the  inevitable,  speedy  doom,  Jeremiah  must  even  denounce 
mourning  with  those  who  mourn  or  rejoicing  with  those  who 
rejoice.4 

In  this  period  of  his  life,  the  compulsion  seen  in  the  prophet's 
early  ministry,  that  drove  him  on  against  his  will,  leads  to  fierce 
inner  struggles. 

Righteous  art  thou,  0  Jehovah,  when  I  contend  with  thee ;  yet  would  I 
reason  the  cause  with  thee:  Wherefore  doth  the  way  of  the  wicked 
prosper?  wherefore  are  all  they  at  ease  that  deal  very  treacherously? 
Thou  hast  planted  them,  yea,  they  have  taken  root ;  they  grow,  yea,  they 
bring  forth  fruit :  thou  art  near  in  their  mouth,  and  far  from  their  heart. 
But  thou,  0  Jehovah,  knowest  me ;  thou  seest  me,  and  triest  my  heart 
toward  thee:  pull  them  out  like  sheep  for  the  slaughter,  and  prepare 
them  for  the  day  of  slaughter. 

How  long  shall  the  land  mourn,  and  the  herbs  of  the  whole  country 
wither?  for  the  wickedness  of  them  that  dwell  therein,  the  beasts  are 

1  In  our  own  day,  the  first-hand  study  of  Israel's  prophets  and,  far 
more  than  that,  the  new  first-hand  study  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus, 
in  their  relation  to  the  conditions  of  our  age,  is  producing  great  rendings 
and  tearings  in  theological  conceptions  and  ecclesiastical  practices. 
*  11 ».  » 16  »•*.  4 16  «-«. 


218  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

consumed,  and  the  birds ;  because  they  said,  He  shall  not  see  our  last 
end. 

0  Jehovah,  thou  hast  persuaded  me,  and  I  was  persuaded ;  thou  art 
stronger  than  I,  and  hast  prevailed:  I  am  become  a  laughing-stock  all 
the  day,  every  one  mocketh  me.  For  as  often  as  I  speak,  I  cry  out;  I 
cry  violence  and  destruction !  because  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  made  a 
reproach  unto  me,  and  a  derision,  all  the  day.  And  if  I  say  I  will  not 
make  mention  of  him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  his  name,  then  there  is  in 
my  heart  as  it  were  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  am  weary 
with  forbearing,  and  I  cannot  contain. .  For  I  have  heard  the  defaming  of 
many,  terror  on  every  side.  Denounce,  and  we  will  denounce  him,  say 
all  my  familiar  friends,  they  that  watch  for  my  fall;  peradventure  he 
will  be  persuaded,  and  we  shall  prevail  against  him,  and  we  shall  take  our 
revenge  on  him.  But  Jehovah  is  with  me  as  a  mighty  one  and  terrible : 
therefore  my  persecutors  shall  stumble,  and  they  shall  not  prevail ;  they 
shall  be  utterly  put  to  shame,  because  they  have  not  dealt  wisely,  even 
with  an  everlasting  dishonor  which  shall  never  be  forgotten.  But,  0 
Jehovah  of  hosts,  that  triest  the  righteous,  and  seest  the  heart  and  the 
mind,  let  me  see  thy  vengeance  on  them ;  for  unto  thee  -have  I  revealed 
my  cause.  Sing  unto  Jehovah,  praise  ye  Jehovah ;  for  he  hath  delivered 
the  soul  of  the  needy  from  the  hand  of  evil-doers. 

Cursed  be  the  day  wherein  I  was  born;  let  not  the  day  wherein  my 
mother  bare  me  be  blessed.  Cursed  be  the  man,  who  brought  tidings  to 
my  father,  saying,  A  man-child  is  born  unto  thee ;  making  him  very  glad. 
And  let  that  man  be  as  the  cities  which  Jehovah  overthrew,  and  repented 
not ;  and  let  him  hear  a  cry  in  the  morning,  and  shouting  at  noon-time ; 
because  he  slew  me  not  from  the  womb ;  and  so  my  mother  would  have 
been  my  grave,  and  her  womb  always  great.  Wherefore  came  I  forth 
out  of  the  womb  to  see  labor  and  sorrow,  that  my  days  should  be  con- 
sumed with  shame?1 

Through  such  wrestlings,  the  prophet  came  to  a  personal  fellow- 
ship with  God,  beyond  that  which  we  see  in  any  other  hero  of 
ancient  Israel.  From  his  hours  of  despair  he  goes  forth  strong  to 
meet  his  task  and  perform  it,  a  task  increasingly  difficult  which 
can  be  accomplished  only  as  strength  grows  with  need. 

If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied  thee,  then 
how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses  ?  and  though  in  a  land  of  peace  thou 
art  secure,  yet  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  pride  of  the  Jordan  ?  For  even  thy 
brethren,  and  the  house  of  thy  father,  even  they  have  dealt  treacherously 

1 12  *-4,  20  7~18.    Compare  also  11  20,  14  lfl-13,  18  19~23. 


FROM   THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE         219 

with  thee;   even  they  have  cried  aloud  after  thee:   believe  them  not, 
though  they  speak  fair  words  unto  thee.1 

We  may  not  leave  this  period  of  Jeremiah's  activity  without 
some  notice  of  the  exultant  taunt-song  with  which  he  greets 
Nebuchadrezzar's  victory  over  Necho,  in  604  B.C.  Jeremiah 
immediately  recognized  Babylon  as  the  power  destined  to  rule  the 
west,  and  saw  in  Necho's  defeat  the  removal  of  the  chief  support 
of  Jehoiakim's  evil  reign. 

Set  in  line  the  buckler  and  shield  and  draw  near  to  battle ! 

Harness  the  horses  and  mount,  ye  riders,  and  take  your  stand  with  your 

helmets ! 
Polish  the  lances,  put  on  the  coats  of  mail ! 

Why  are  they  terrified  and  turning  backward  ? 
They  flee  in  wild  flight  and  look  not  back ;  terror  on  every  side ! 
The  swift  cannot  flee  away  nor  the  mighty  warrior  escape ! 
Northward  beside  the  River  Euphrates  they  have  stumbled  and  fallen ! 

Who  is  this  that  riseth  up  like  the  Nile,  whose  waters  toss  themselves  like 
the  streams  ? 

And  he  saith,  I  will  rise  up,  I  will  cover  the  earth,  I  will  destroy  its  in- 
habitants ! 

Go  up,  ye  horses,  and  rage,  ye  chariots,  let  the  mighty  warriors  go  forth : 

Gush  and  Put,  armed  with  shields,  and  the  Ludim  who  bend  the  bow ! 

But  that  day  is  Jehovah's  day  of  vengeance,  that  he  may  avenge  himself 

on  his  adversaries ; 
And  the  sword  shall  devour  to  satiety  and  shall  drink  its  fill  of  their 

blood. 
For  Jehovah  hath  a  sacrifice  in  the  north-land  beside  the  River  Euphrates. 

Go  up  to  Gilead  and  take  balm,  0  virgin  daughter  of  Egypt ! 

In  vain  hast  thou  employed  many  medicines;  there  is  no  healing  for 
thee. 

Nations  have  heard  thy  wail,  and  the  earth  is  full  of  thy  outcry. 

For  hero  hath  stumbled  against  hero,  they  are  fallen  both  of  them  to- 
gether ! 2 

1 12  B-«. 

2  45  s-12.  Translation  of  C.  F.  Kent  in  Sermons,  Epistles,  and  Apoca- 
lypses of  Israel's  Prophets,  p.  218. 


220  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  victory  of  Nebuchadrezzar  at  Carchemish  receives  inter- 
pretation also  from  the  prophet  Habakkuk,  who  must  have 
spoken  at  about  this  time.  His  tiny  book  opens  with  a  cry,  out 
of  the  violence  and  injustice  that  prevail  in  Judea.  "How  long ?" 
Like  Micah  6  and  7,  the  oracle  is  constructed  in  the  form  of 
dramatic  dialogue,  at  least  as  far  as  2  5.1  When  the  prophet 
fails  to  get  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  problem  of  the  unpunished 
triumph  of  the  wicked  over  those  more  righteous,  he  takes  his 
stand  upon  his  watch  tower  and  waits  for  an  answer. 

In  the  Chaldeans  he  sees  the  instrument  of  Jehovah's  punish- 
ment of  his  people,  as,  a  century  before,  Isaiah  had  seen  in  the 
Assyrian  the  rod  of  Jehovah's  hand.  Isaiah  had  noted  that  the 
proud  Assyrian  had  thought  himself  gratifying  his  own  lust  when 
he  was  thus  used,  and  Habakkuk,  in  1-2  4,  does  not  go  beyond 
applying  Isaiah's  thought  to  the  conquering  power  of  his  day. 
In  2  5~20,  there  is  sure  confidence  that  the  Chaldean  in  his  turn  shall 
suffer  just  retribution.  This  finds  expression  in  a  taunt-song 
against  the  one  that  has  plundered  many  nations,  beginning :  — 

Woe  to  the  proud  and  treacherous, 

The  arrogant  one  who  never  has  enough, 

Who  makes  his  desire  wide  as  Sheol, 

He  is  like  death,  unsatisfied, 

For  he  hath  gathered  to  himself  all  the  nations, 

And  brought  together  to  himself  all  peoples. 

Shall  not  these,  all  of  them,  take  up  a  proverb  against  him.* 

The  noble  psalm  of  faith  which  closes  the  book  is  generally 
counted  a  later  production. 

The  death  of  Jehoiakim,  some  seven  years  after  Nebuchad- 
rezzar's victory,  called  out  from  Jeremiah  a  song  of  woe  in  which 
the  people  were  forbidden  to  lament  the  king  who  had  builded 
his  house  by  unrighteousness  and  his  chambers  by  injustice.3 
The  Babylonian  siege  of  Jerusalem,  following  three  months  later, 
gave  Jeremiah  occasion  for  laments  which  are  now  imbedded  in 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  chapters  of  the  book.  The  prophet 

1  This  may  have  been  the  entire  original  prophecy  of  Habakkuk. 

2  Translation  of  C.  F.  Kent,  based  on  a  revision  of  the  corrupt  Hebrew 
text.  « Jeremiah  22  1!«3. 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE      221 

now  assured  Jehoiakim  and  the  queen  mother  that  their  fate  was 
certain  and  that  they  should  not  return  from  Babylonia. 

After  the  first  captivity  had  begun  in  597,  false  hopes  of  speedy 
restoration  for  the  captives  were  working  injury  to  the  community 
in  Jerusalem  and  the  one  in  Babylon  as  well,  and  Jeremiah  directed 
his  energies  to  counteracting  this  evil.  With  symbolic  vision  of 
the  contrasted  baskets  of  figs,  one  good,  the  other  so  bad  that  the 
figs  could  not  be  eaten,  Jeremiah  the  teacher  sought  to  impress  the 
true  situation.1  Realizing  as  Jeremiah  did  that  the  future  hope 
of  the  nation  lay  in  its  nobler  elements  that  had  been  carried  to 
Babylon,  and  confident  that  the  captivity  would  be  long,  the  far- 
seeing  prophet  strove  to  perpetuate  the  people  in  the  distant  land. 
He  sent  a  letter  to  them,  urging  them  to  marry,  rear  families, 
and  seek  the  peace  of  the  city  whither  they  had  come. 2  False 
prophets  promised  early  restoration;  along  that  line  of  unprac- 
tical and  superstitious  faith  lay  the  extinction  of  Judah.  Jere- 
miah was  forced  to  deliver  an  elaborate  oracle  against  the  teachers 
who  flattered  the  people's  hopes.3 

One  of  the  optimistic  prophets,  Hananiah,  broke  a  wooden  yoke 
which  Jeremiah  had  put  upon  his  own  neck  to  symbolize  coming 
captivity,  declaring  in  Jehovah's  name,  "Even  so  will  I  break  the 
yoke  of  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon."  Replacing  the  yoke 
of  wood  with  one  of  iron,  Jeremiah  pronounced  doom  on  Hananiah, 
and  declared  that  the  test  would  be,  as  it  had  been  with  the 
prophets  of  old,  whether  the  promised  peace  came.  In  opposition 
to  all  who  would  encourage  rebellion,  he  announced  that  Jehovah 
had  given  all  these  lands  to  Nebuchadrezzar. 

The  situation  was  strikingly  parallel  to  that  of  a  century  before 
when  Isaiah  strove  to  dissuade  Hezekiah  from  revolt  against 
Assyria.  The  statesman-prophet's  sound  wisdom  was  flouted  now 
as  then,  and  the  mad  revolt  came.  The  king,  too  weak  to  resist 
the  nobles,  still  respected  Jeremiah's  word  and  sent  messengers 
to  seek  his  counsel  or  prayer  once  and  again;  the  prophet's 
assurance  was  always  of  the  hopelessness  of  resistance  to  Babylon 
and  the  certainty  of  doom  for  all  who  did  not  surrender.  The 
old  ignis-fatuus,  the  expectation  of  help  from  Egypt,  doubtless 
frustrated  Jeremiah's  counsels.  Egypt  actually  sent  out  an 
1  Jeremiah  24.  2  Jeremiah  29.  3  Jeremiah  23  »~40. 


222  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

army  that  forced  the  Chaldeans  hastily  to  raise  the  siege ;  Jeremiah 
gave  assurance  that  the  besiegers  would  surely  return  and  burn 
the  city. 

At  this  time  of  temporary  relief,  Jeremiah  undertook  to  visit 
Anathoth,  to  receive  his  inheritance  there.  At  the  city  gate  he 
was  arrested  as  a  deserter,  and  the  princes  quickly  judged  him 
worthy  of  stripes  and  prison.  Later  he  was  cast  into  an  empty 
cistern  and  left  to  starve  in  the  mud  at  its  bottom.  Escaping  this 
horrible  fate  through  the  intervention  of  a  friend  in  the  king's 
household,  he  was  kept  in  less  rigorous  confinement,  where  the 
king  continued  to  consult  him,  though  he  dared  not  follow  the 
counsel  given. 

Jeremiah's  uncle  came  to  him  in  prison  to  sell  him  a  family  field 
in  Anathoth.  With  all  legal  formality  Jeremiah  purchased  the 
land,  demonstrating  his  faith  that,  though  destruction  was  at 
hand,  houses  and  fields  and  vineyards  should  yet  be  bought  in 
Judea. 

With  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  Babylonians  learned  what 
Jeremiah's  attitude  toward  the  war  had  been,  and  they  gave  him 
his  choice  of  going  to  Babylon  or  remaining  with  those  who  were 
left  in  the  land;  he  chose  the  latter  course,  but,  a  few  months 
later,  was  carried  down  into  Egypt,  when  the  little  company  with 
whom  he  dwelt  fled  thither.  This  great  prophet  disappears  from 
view  in  Egypt,  after  a  public  ministry  of  more  than  forty  years. 

Jeremiah's  teaching  from  597  to  586  yields  little  of  poetic  oracle 
or  of  striking  truth  for  general  application.  The  prophet  was 
chiefly  occupied  during  this  trying  period  with  immediate,  prac- 
tical ends,  seeking  to  avert,  as  far  as  possible,  the  self-sought 
doom  of  his  loved  people  and  to  preserve  through  wreck  and  ruin 
the  remnants  of  the  nation.  That,  out  of  this  sombre  time  of 
chastened  and  unswerving  service  the  prophet  did  suffer  himself 
to  take  occasionally  the  long  look  ahead,  we  have  seen  in  the 
redemption  of  the  family  field.  The  present  with  its  almost  hope- 
less tasks  to  be  performed  and  its  anguish  of  soul  to  be  endured 
could  not  be  all  for  one  who  believed  in  Jeremiah's  God  —  "Houses 
and  fields  and  vineyards  shall  yet  again  be  bought  in  this  land." 
Out  of  these  gloomy  years  came,  besides,  something  far  greater  than 
that  hope;  houses  and  fields  and  vineyards  restored  would  not 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSIAH  TO  THE  EXILE      223 

have  seemed  to  him  in  itself  a  thing  greatly  to  be  desired ;  a  trans- 
formed nation  there  must  be  to  enjoy  these  blessings. 

Jeremiah  began  his  ministry  before  Josiah's  reform ;  he  saw  the 
awful  conditions  left  by  Manasseh ;  then  these  were  swept  away 
by  a  reform  which  outwardly  transformed  the  nation,  only  to  be 
restored  in  the  complete  counter-reaction  under  Jehoiakim  and 
his  successors.  The  era  offered  a  great  school  in  the  futility  of 
law,  though  that  law  was  the  noblest  ever  written,  though  it  put 
into  working  form  the  best  ideals  of  the  loftiest  idealists.  In  his 
later  years  Jeremiah  saw  that  there  must  be,  not  only  restoration 
to  a  bountiful  land,  but  transformation  from  within  where  life 
has  its  springs. 

Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  Jehovah,  that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant 
with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah;  not  according 
to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took 
them  by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt;  which  my 
covenant  they  break,  although  I  was  a  husband  unto  them,  saith  Jehovah. 
But  this  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel  after 
those  days,  saith  Jehovah :  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and 
in  their  heart  will  I  write  it ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
people.  And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  Jehovah;  for  they  shall  all  know 
me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  Jehovah :  for 
I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  their  sin  will  I  remember  no  more.1 

This  passage,  which  is  one  of  the  culminating  points  of  the  Old 
Covenant  thought,  obviously  suggested  the  name  for  the  Christian 
religion  and  for  its  collection  of  sacred  books  —  the  New  Cove- 
nant or  Testament. 

The  tragic  life  of  Jeremiah  was  one  of  the  most  significant  in 
the  history  of  humanity.  Through  anguish  of  soul  Hosea  first 
apprehended  the  unquenchable  love  of  Jehovah  for  Israel,  and  it 
was  through  anguish  that  Jeremiah  came  into  conscious  fellowship 
with  God,  as  no  other  of  whom  we  have  record  before  Christ. 
Not  in  wife  nor  child,  in  kindred  nor  nation,  could  his  sensitive, 
loving  heart  be  granted  the  joy  and  consolation  of  fellowship ; 
bitterly  he  complained  of  his  awful  loneliness,  but  hi  this  very 
complaint  he  found  the  universal  heart  and  came  to  see  the  unseen. 

1  Jeremiah  31  31~34. 


224  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

In  Jeremiah  it  is  possible  to  watch  the  transition  from  a  national 
to  an  individual  religion.  It  would  be  difficult  to  say  where  else  in 
literature  one  could  better  put  the  finger  down  to  mark  the  begin- 
ning of  the  history  of  individualism.  In  Jeremiah's  writings  we 
find,  then,  the  record  of  one  of  the  most  important  advance  steps 
in  the  history  of  literature  as  well  as  the  history  of  religion. 

The  communal  character  of  the  earliest  poetry  of  all  peoples 
was  emphasized  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  volume,  which 
has  recognized  also  that  in  the  e'arly  prose  of  Israel  we  cannot 
speak  of  individual  authors.  In  the  early  prophets,  the  point 
of  view  has  been  found  to  be  generally  tribal  or  national  rather 
than,  individual ;  on  the  nation  was  to  fall  the  blessing  or  the 
judgment  promised.  In  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  the  point  of 
view  was  largely  the  same  in  this  respect.  In  Jeremiah  we  come 
to  clear  expression  of  the  thought  that  the  individual  has  standing 
in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  those  days  they  shall  say  no  more,  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge.  But  every  one  shall  die 
for  his  own  iniquity:  every  man  that  eateth  the  sour  grapes,  his  teeth 
shall  be  set  on  edge. l 

It  was  Jeremiah's  bitter  experience  of  separation  and  weakness, 
driving  him  into  closest  personal  communion  with  God,  together 
with  the  imminent  downfall  of  the  nation,  that  gave  a  new  sense 
of  the  individual.  In  the  history  of  government,  ethics,  literature, 
or  religion,  it  is  recognized  that  we  go  far  astray  if  we  fail  to  see 
the  universal  law  of  the  priority  of  tribal  or  communal  conscious- 
ness to  the  distinctly  individual.  In  the  literature  and  religion 
of  Israel,  the  mighty  significance  of  the  transition  can  easily  be 

traced. 

1  Jeremiah  31  2»-30. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

LITERATURE  AT  THE   CLOSE   OF  THE   MONARCHY 

(597  to  586  B.C.) 

IF  it  was  matter  of  surprise  that  so  much  literature  of  Northern 
Israel  survived  the  catastrophe  of  722,  it  is  more  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  so  many  of  the  writings  of  Judah  were  preserved  at  the 
time  of  the  Babylonian  captivity.  It  may  be  that  some  precious 
rolls,  which  later  found  their  way  back  to  Judea,  were  carried  by 
those  who  had  fled  to  Egypt ;  the  story  of  Jeremiah's  last  preach- 
ing x  must  have  been  brought  thence,  and  other  matter  may 
have  been.  Those  who  remained  in  Palestine  may  have  preserved 
some  writings;  but  Babylon  now  became  the  centre  of  literary 
activity,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  devoted  love  which  led  the  exiles 
to  carry  then*  precious  books  with  them  was  the  means  of  keeping 
from  destruction  the  major  part  of  the  literature  discussed  hi  the 
previous  chapters,  together,  we  must  suppose,  with  much  that  has 
since  disappeared.  Many  writings  undoubtedly  perished  in  the 
confusion  of  the  capture  and  subsequent  burning  of  the  city,  and 
in  the  herding  together  of  the  exiles  for  their  long,  overland 
journey  on  foot.  Possibly  the  official  chronicles  which  had  been 
kept  from  the  days  of  David  until  this  tune  were  now  destroyed ; 
presumably  only  such  rolls  as  were  held  most  dear  by  individual 
owners  were  hugged  close  and  carried  those  seven  hundred  miles. 

In  general,  we  can  infer  that  the  exiles  carried  with  them  their 
composite  histories  that  dealt  with  traditions  and  events  from 
Adam  to  the  death  of  Solomon.  Of  these,  our  books  of  Samuel, 
the  history  of  Solomon's  reign,  and  the  narratives  of  the  Judges 
were  probably  separate  rolls ;  while  the  narrative  from  the  creation 
to  the  death  of  Joshua  may  have  been  treated  as  one  book.  They 
carried  also  a  history  of  Northern  Israel  and  one  of  Judah,  cover- 

1  Jeremiah  44. 
Q  225 


226  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

ing  all  the  years  of  the  divided  kingdom ;  though  these  are  now 
lost,  a  compiler  in  the  exile  used  them.  Collections  of  stories 
about  Elijah  and  Elisha  and  concerning  other  prophets,  used  by 
the  compiler  of  Kings,  the  little  books  of  Amos,  Hosea,  Micah, 
Zephaniah,  Nahum,  and  Habakkuk,  books  of  the  genuine 
prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  —  all  these  must  have  been 
taken,  not  as  a  Bible,  but  as  little  rolls,  each  consisting  of  one  book 
or  succession  of  very  short  books.  Perhaps  most  important  of  all 
in  the  minds  of  the  exiles,  was  the  law  book  which  had  been  found 
in  the  Temple  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Josiah  and  had  been  made 
the  basis  of  the  great  reform  led  by  that  king.  Certainly  this 
book  had  a  controlling  influence  on  the  writing  of  the  exile  and 
on  the  life  of  the  people  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Besides  these  writings,  we  have  seen  reason  to  think  that  collec- 
tions of  songs  from  Northern  Israel,  now  embodied  in  the  Psalter, 
may  have  been  among  the  treasures  which  survived  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  time  (Chapter  IX).  In  addition,  there  must  have  been 
Judean  hymns  as  well;  some  composed  perhaps  as  early  as  the 
tenth  century  were  noted  in  Chapter  III.  Others  were  written  at 
various  periods  during  the  three  centuries  and  a  half  of  Judean 
history  that  we  have  seen  to  be  so  rich  in  prose  compositions  and 
in  the  poetic  oracles  of  the  great  prophets.1 

Two  poems  that  quite  clearly  belong  to  the  age  of  the  monarchy 
are  the  prayer  for  victory  on  behalf  of  the  king  about  to  go  forth 
to  war  (Psalm  20)  and  the  Te  Deum  on  the  king's  return  victorious 
(Psalm  21) :  — 

Jehovah  answer  thee  in  the  day  of  trouble; 

The  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  set  thee  up  on  high ; 

Send  thee  help  from  the  sanctuary, 

And  strengthen  thee  out  of  Zion  ; 

Remember  all  thy  offerings, 

And  accept  thy  burnt-sacrifice ; 

Grant  thee  thy  heart's  desire,  % 

1  Professor  Briggs,  Psalms,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  1906,  finds  some  twenty-one 
psalms  or  parts  of  psalms  that  he  assigns  with  varying  confidence  to  the 
period  between  the  division  of  the  kingdom  and  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 
They  are  2,  3,  19  2~7,  20,  21,  23  (perhaps  time  of  Solomon),  27  M,  28, 
36  «f  45,  46,  54,  55?,  56,  58,  60  "-',  «•>-",  61,  62,  72  M,  «-«»,  87,  110. 


LITERATURE  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  MONARCHY    227 

And  fulfil  all  thy  counsel. 

We  will  triumph  in  thy  salvation, 

And  in  the  name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners: 

Jehovah  fulfil  all  thy  petitions. 

Now  know  I  that  Jehovah  saveth  his  anointed ; 

He  will  answer  him  from  his  holy  heaven 

With  the  saving  strength  of  his  right  hand. 

Some  trust  in  chariots,  and  some  in  horses; 

But  we  will  make  mention  of  the  name  of  Jehovah  our  God. 

They  are  bowed  down  and  fallen  ; 

But  we  are  risen,  and  stand  upright. 

Save,  Jehovah: 

Let  the  King  answer  us  when  we  call. 

The  king  shall  joy  in  thy  strength,  0  Jehovah ; 

And  hi  thy  salvation  how  greatly  shall  he  rejoice  1 

Thou  hast  given  him  his  heart's  desire, 

And  hast  not  withholden  the  request  of  his  lips. 

For  thou  meetest  him  with  the  blessings  of  goodness : 

Thou  settest  a  crown  of  fine  gold  on  his  head. 

He  asked  life  of  thee,  thou  gavest  it  him, 

Even  length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever. 

His  glory  is  great  in  thy  salvation : 

Honor  and  majesty  dost  thou  lay  upon  him. 

For  thou  makest  him  most  blessed  for  ever : 

Thou  makest  him  glad  with  joy  in  thy  presence. 

For  the  king  trusteth  hi  Jehovah ; 

And  through  the  lovingkindness  of  the  Most  High  he  shall  not  be  moved. 

Thy  hand  will  find  out  all  thine  enemies ; 

Thy  right  hand  will  find  out  those  that  hate  thee. 

Thou  wilt  make  them  as  a  fiery  furnace  in  the  time  of  thine  anger : 

Jehovah  will  swallow  them  up  in  his  wrath, 

And  the  fire  shall  devour  them. 

Their  fruit  wilt  thou  destroy  from  the  earth, 

And  their  seed  from  among  the  children  of  men. 

For  they  intended  evil  against  thee ; 

They  conceived  a  device  which  they  are  not  able  to  perform. 

For  thou  wilt  make  them  turn  then"  back ; 

Thou  wilt  make  ready  with  thy  bowstrings  against  their  face. 

Be  thou  exalted,  O  Jehovah,  in  thy  strength: 

So  will  we  sing  and  praise  thy  power. 


228  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  beautiful  hymn  praising  the  glory  of  God  in  the  heavens 
(19  1-6)  could  consistently  be  the  product  of  the  last  period  of  the 
monarchy,  when  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  themselves 
was  so  prominent  among  the  faithless :  — 

The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God ; 

And  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork. 

Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech, 

And  night  unto  night  showeth  knowledge. 

There  is  no  speech  nor  language ; 

Their  voice  is  not  heard. 

Their  line  is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth. 

And  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

In  them  hath  he  set  a  tabernacle  for  the  sun, 

Which  is  as  a  bridegroom  coming  out  of  his  chamber, 

And  rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man  to  run  his  course. 

His  going  forth  is  from  the  end  of  the  heavens, 

And  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it ; 

And  there  is  nothing  hid  from  the  heat  thereof. 

Associated  in  thought  with  this  morning  hymn  is  the  morning 
prayer  of  the  harassed  leader  who  wakens  to  thoughts  of  Jehovah's 
protection :  — 

Jehovah,  how  are  mine  adversaries  increased ! 

Many  are  there  that  rise  up  against  me. 

Many  there  are  that  say  of  my  soul, 

There  is  no  help  for  him  in  God. 

But  thou,  0  Jehovah,  art  a  shield  about  me ; 

My  glory  and  the  lifter  up  of  my  head. 

I  cry  unto  Jehovah  with  my  voice, 

And  he  answereth  me  out  of  his  holy  hill. 

I  laid  me  down  and  slept ; 

I  awaked ;  for  Jehovah  sustaineth  me. 

I  will  not  be  afraid  of  ten  thousands  of  the  people 

That  have  set  themselves  against  me  round  about. 

Arise,  0  Jehovah ;  save  me,  O  my  God: 

For  thou  hast  smitten  all  mine  enemies  upon  the  cheek  bone ; 

Thou  hast  broken  the  teeth  of  the  wicked. 

Salvation  belongeth  unto  Jehovah : 

Thy  blessing  be  upon  thy  people. 


LITERATURE  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE   MONARCHY      229 

One  of  the  noblest  of  the  hymns  which  came  from  the  days  of 
the  monarchy  is  found  in  the  prayer  for  a  true  king,  apparently  an 
accession  hymn,  more  appropriate  for  Josiah  than  for  any  other  of 
the  kings  of  Judah.  Parts  of  this  psalm  imply  later  Messianic 
hopes  and  must  be  omitted  from  the  original,  preexilic  ode.1 

Give  the  king  thy  judgments,  O  God, 

And  thy  righteousness  unto  the  king's  son. 

He  will  judge  thy  people  with  righteousness, 

And  thy  poor  with  justice. 

The  mountains  shall  bring  peace  to  the  people, 

And  the  hills,  in  righteousness. 

He  will  judge  the  poor  of  the  people, 

He  will  save  the  children  of  the  needy, 

And  will  break  in  pieces  the  oppressor. 

They  shall  fear  thee  while  the  sun  endureth, 

And  so  long  as  the  moon,  throughout  all  generations. 

He  will  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass, 

As  showers  that  water  the  earth. 

In  his  days  shall  the  righteous  nourish, 

And  abundance  of  peace,  till  the  moon  be  no  more. 

He  will  have  pity  on  the  poor  and  needy, 

And  the  souls  of  the  needy  he  will  save. 

He  will  redeem  their  soul  from  oppression  and  violence ; 

And  precious  will  their  blood  be  in  his  sight : 

And  they  shall  live ;  and  to  him  shall  be  given  of  the  gold  of  Sheba : 

And  men  shall  pray  for  him  continually ; 

They  shall  bless  him  all  the  day  long. 

There  shall  be  abundance  of  grain  in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the 

mountains ; 

The  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Lebanon : 
And  they  of  the  city  shall  nourish  like  grass  of  the  earth. 
His  name  shall  endure  for  ever ; 
His  name  shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun : 

The  original  book  of  songs  that  passed  current  under  the  name 
of  David,  from  which  so  many  poems  were  embodied  hi  the  later 
collections  making  up  our  Psalter,  was  not  completed  until  post- 
exilic  times.  We  have  no  means  of  knowing,  indeed,  how  far 
the  early  poems  that  were  embodied  in  the  collections  lying  back 
1  See  Briggs,  Psalms,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  in  loc. 


230  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

of  the  Book  of  Psalms  were  already  grouped  at  the  close  of  the 
monarchy.  The  fact,  however,  that  the  early  days  of  the  kingdom 
produced  collections  of  national  hymns  (see  pp.  42-43)  makes  it 
highly  probable  that  the  preexilic  poems  of  the  Book  of  Psalms 
were  gathered  into  books  of  poems  which  were  carried  to  Babylon 
along  with  the  rolls  that  we  can  name  and  describe  more  precisely. 
In  addition  to  songs  from  the  kingdom  of  Judah  ultimately 
embodied  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  other  poems  used  by  the  com- 
pilers of  the  exile  were  carried  to  Babylon  in  some  form.  One  of 
these  is  appended  to  the  history  of  David  contained  in  Samuel. 
ft  is  styled  "the  last  words  of  David,"  but  was  composed  at  a 
much  later  date  than  the  time  of  "Israel's  sweet  singer,"  perhaps 
during  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  or  Josiah.1 

Says  David,  son  of  Jesse, 
The  man  who  was  exalted, 
Of  Jacob's  God  anointed, 
And  Israel's  sweet  singer : 

•     "Through  me  spoke  Yahweh's  spirit, 
His  word  upon  my  tongue  was ; 
Thus  spoke  the  God  of  Jacob, 
To  me  said  Israel's  rock : 

"'Who  rules  mankind  in  justice, 
Who  in  the  fear  of  God  reigns, 
Is  like  the  light  that  breaks  forth, 
The  sun  on  cloudless  morning.' 

"Is  not  my  house  with  God  so? 
He  made  with  me  a  covenant, 
His  watchcare  has  preserved  me, 
What  I  wished  has  succeeded. 

"Like  thorns  the  bad  are  cast  off, 
They  are  not  led  by  his  hand. 
Who  touches  them  must  armed  be, 

With  spear  of  wood  and  iron."  2 
i 

1  Schmidt,  Messages  of  the  Poets,  p.  370.     See  also  H.  P.  Smith,  Samuel, 
Int.  Crit.  Com.,  p.  381. 

2  Translation  by  Schmidt  in  The  Messages  of  the  Poets. 


LITERATURE  AT  THE  CLOSE   OF  THE   MONARCHY     231 

The  "song  of  Moses"  concerning  Jehovah's  just  dealings  with 
Israel  very  probably  dates  from  Josiah's  reign.1  The  opening 
stanzas  as  translated  by  Schmidt  are :  — 

Give  ear,  O  heavens,  I  will  speak ; 
Listen,  0  earth,  to  my  mouth's  words ! 
Let  my  instruction  fall  like  rain, 
And  like  the  dew  my  words  drop  down, 
Like  showers  on  the  tender  grass, 
Like  streams  upon  the  withered  herb. 

For  Jehovah's  name  I  will  proclaim. 
O  give  ye  honor  to  our  God ! 
A  rock  is  he,  perfect  his  work, 
For  all  his  ways  are  right  and  true : 
A  faithful  God,  hi  nothing  false, 
He  ever  upright  is  and  just. 

When  the  Most  High  scattered  mankind, 
And  parted  wide  the  sons  of  men, 
And  fixed  for  nations  their  abodes, 
In  number  as  the  sons  of  God, 
On  Jehovah's  lot  fell  Israel, 
Jacob  became  his  heritage. 

He  found  him  in  the  wilderness, 

A  desert  where  no  water  was ; 

He  watched  him,  kept  him,  cared  for  him, 

As  for  the  apple  of  his  eye. 

As  eagle  that  stirs  up  her  nest, 

Flutters  and  stirs  above  her  young, 

He  spread  abroad  his  wings,  took  him, 
And  on  his  pinions  held  him  high ; 
He  let  him  o'er  high  places  ride, 
And  let  him  eat  fruit  of  the  field ; 
Let  him  suck  honey  from  the  cliff, 
And  oil  out  of  flinty  rock. 

Whether  there  were  as  yet  any  formal  collections  of  the  nation's 
gnomic  wisdom  from  which  the  post-exilic  books  of  aphorisms 

1  Driver,   Deuteronomy,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  p.  346  f. ;  Schmidt,  Messages  of 
the  Poets,  p.  336  f. 


232  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

drew  material  is  much  more  doubtful.  We  have  no  clear  evidence 
that  Israel  in  the  days  of  the  monarchy  made  elaborate  written 
collections  of  proverbs  as  she  did  of  national  songs ;  yet  there  is 
adequate  reason  to  believe  that  aphoristic  wisdom  of  form  similar 
to  that  which  makes  up  the  great  body  of  the  post-exilic  book  of 
Proverbs  is  as  old  as  the  nation,  and  there  may  have  been  written 
collections  of  proverbs  carried  to  Babylon  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century.  About  the  time  of  the  end  of  the  kingdom,  "the 
wise"  appear  as  a  distinct  class,  along  with  priests  and  prophets.1 
The  exiles  took  with  them  a  rich  and  varied  literature  on  which 
they  meditated  deeply  and  to  which  we  shall  find  them  adding 
many  new  elements  in  far-off  Babylonia. 

1  Jeremiah  18  u. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  THE  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE 

(592  to  about  570  B.C.} 

THE  exile  could  not  bring  about  any  such  sudden  and  complete 
break  in  the  literary  history  of  the  nation  as  in  its  political  life ;  yet 
the  influence  of  this  great  national  experience  is  immediately  felt 
in  the  form  and  thought  of  the  literature  and  ultimately  works 
out  changes  that  are  revolutionary.  The  writings  of  Ezekiel 
afford  interesting  illustrations  of  the  continuity  of  the  literary  life 
of  the  people  and  also  of  the  modifying  influences  of  the  exile. 

Ezekiel  was  a  young  priest  carried  to  Babylon  among  the 
selected  ten  thousand  deported  in  597.  Five  years  later,  he  began 
his  public  ministry  as  a  prophet  to  the  exiles  who  were  settled  by 
the  Chebar  in  central  Babylonia.1  His  message  was  at  one  with 
that  which  Jeremiah  was  delivering  at  the  same  time  in  Jerusalem. 
Its  aim  was  to  prepare  the  people  for  the  crushing  blow  which  the 
coming  destruction  of  the  trusted  city  and  temple  would  inflict. 
Both  in  Jerusalem  and  Babylonia  there  were  prophets  who  were 
stoutly  maintaining  the  false  faith  that  Jerusalem  could  not  be 
captured  and  that  the  exile  would  be  a  very  brief  matter.2  As 
Hananiah  in  Jerusalem  had  broken  the  wooden  yoke  from  Jere- 
miah's shoulders,3  so  Shemiah  in  Babylonia  was  outraged  because 
Jeremiah  had  sent  word  to  the  exiles  that  the  captivity  would  be 
long.  He  wrote  to  the  priest  in  charge  of  the  Jerusalem  temple 
that  such  a  madman,  who  made  himself  a  prophet,  ought  to  be 

1  The  Chebar  has  often  been  identified  with  the  Habor  of  Mesopotamia, 
but  the  excavations  conducted  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  at 
Nippur,  in  central  Babylonia,  have  resulted  in  the  identification  of  the 
canal  Kabaru  (the  "great  canal")  which  ran  down  through  the  heart  of 
Babylonia.  Hilpreeht  argues  that  the  exiles  were  settled  quite  near  to 
Nippur,  not  far  from  this  canal.  —  Explorations  in  Bible  Lands  during  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  pp.  411  ff.  *  Jeremiah  29  8~».  *p.  222. 

233 


234  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

put  in  the  stocks.1  Ezekiel  was  forced  to  make  use  of  all  the 
vivid  methods  of  objective  teaching  that  his  fertile  genius  could 
devise  to  impress  the  futility  of  the  hope  of  speedy  return  and  the 
certainty  of  the  coming  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  He  portrayed 
the  city  on  a  tile  and  laid  mimic  siege  against  it,  casting  up  a 
mound,  setting  camps,  and  planting  battering  rams  round  about. 
Forty  days  he  lay  on  his  side,  each  day  for  a  year,  the  period  which 
the  iniquity  of  the  house  of  Judah  should  be  borne.  He  ate  pol- 
luted bread  because  Israel  was  to  eat  her  bread  unclean  among 
the  nations;  he  carefully  measured  his  food  and  drink,  for  thus 
the  besieged  ones  would  be  forced  to  do  in  the  famine-stricken 
city.  Cutting  off  his  own  hair,  burning,  smiting,  scattering  it, 
he  indicated  that  a  third  of  Jerusalem's  inhabitants  should  perish 
by  famine  and  pestilence,  a  third  by  the  sword,  and  a  third  should 
be  scattered  to  the  winds,  with  a  sword  drawn  out  after  them.2 

Besides  performing  symbolic  actions,  Ezekiel  described  con- 
cretely actual  conditions  as  he  saw  them  existing,  or  again,  with 
no  less  of  vividness,  the  symbolic  visions  of  his  own  soul.  The 
very  temple  which  Jeremiah  found  the  people  trusting  as  a  pal- 
ladium, Ezekiel  pictured  as  desecrated  by  the  grossest  animal 
worship  and  nature  worship.3  In  vision,  he  saw  Jehovah  depart- 
ing from  his  polluted  house.4 

Ezekiel  expanded  and  made  more  definite  Jeremiah's  doctrine 
of  individualism.  The  proverb,  "The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge"  was  popular  in 
Babylon,5  as  it  was  also  in  Judea.6  To  interpret  the  blow  that 
had  fallen  in  597  as  a  national  judgment  due  to  the  sins  of  a  former 
generation  was  a  natural  application  of  the  doctrine  of  the  prophets, 
a  doctrine  inadequate  for  the  exigency  of  the  present  situation. 
The  earlier  prophets  had  dealt  with  the  nation;  the  end  of  the 
nation  has  now  begun  and  the  individual  must  find  his  relation 
to  the  God  of  justice.  The  transition  to  individualism,  begun  in 
Jeremiah,  is  greatly  furthered  in  Ezekiel :  — 

Yet  say  ye,  Wherefore  doth  not  the  son  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father  ? 
When  the  son  hath  done  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  and  hath  kept  all 
my  statutes,  and  hath  done  them,  he  shall  surely  live.  The  soul  that 

1  Jeremiah  29  24-29.  2  Ezekiel  4  and  5.  »  Chapter  8. 

4 11  22-23.  6 18  2.  6  Jeremiah  31  29. 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE    235 

sinneth,  it  shall  die:  the  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  neither 
shall  the  father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son ;  the  righteousness  of  the  right- 
eous shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon 
him. 

But  if  the  wicked  turn  from  all  his  sins  that  he  hath  committed,  and 
keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  surely 
live,  he  shall  not  die.  None  of  his  transgressions  that  he  hath  committed 
shall  be  remembered  against  him :  in  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done 
he  shall  live.  Have  I  any  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked  ?  saith  the 
Lord  Jehovah ;  and  not  rather  that  he  should  return  from  his  way,  and 
live  ?  But  when  the  righteous  turneth  away  from  his  righteousness,  and 
committeth  iniquity,  and  doeth  according  to  all  the  abominations  that 
the  wicked  man  doeth,  shall  he  live  ?  None  of  his  righteous  deeds  that  he 
hath  done  shall  be  remembered :  in  his  trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed, 
and  in  his  sin  that  he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die.1 

Since  the  captives  of  597  and  their  kindred  left  behind  in  Jeru- 
salem were  in  communication,  thought  in  one  centre  answered 
thought  in  the  other.  The  prophets  of  false  hope  taught  the  same 
dangerous  doctrine  in  each  region,  and  the  true  prophets  who 
saw  the  inevitable  doom  were  one  in  doctrine,  whether  in  Jerusalem 
or  on  the  river  Chebar.  Ezekiel's  methods,  too,  of  recounted  vision 
and  symbolic  action  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  methods  that  had 
long  been  used  by  the  Judean  prophets.  Yet  it  is  true  that 
Ezekiel's  symbolism,  especially  in  his  visions,  developed  into  a 
form  new  and  bewildering. 

Isaiah  had  described  his  inaugural  vision  in  symbols  that  are 
intelligible  and  beautiful  in  every  age  and  land;  but  the  imagery 
of  Ezekiel's  inaugural  vision,  while  it  fascinates  those  who  love 
esoteric  mysteries,  repels  most,  normally  constituted  men  and 
women  of  to-day. 

And  I  looked,  and,  behold,  a  stormy  wind  came  out  of  the  north,  a  great 
cloud,  with  a  fire  infolding  itself,  and  a  brightness  round  about  it,  and  out 
of  the  midst  thereof  as  it  were  glowing  metal,  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire. 
And  out  of  the  midst  thereof  came  the  likeness  of  four  living  creatures. 
And  this  was  their  appearance :  They  had  the  likeness  of  a  man ;  and 
every  one  had  four  faces,  and  every  one  of  them  had  four  wings.  And 
their  feet  were  straight  feet ;  and  the  sole  of  their  feet  was  like  the  sole  of 

i  Ezekiel  18  »•-*•. 


236  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

a  calf's  foot ;  and  they  sparkled  like  burnished  brass.  And  they  had  the 
hands  of  a  man  under  their  wings  on  their  four  sides ;  and  they  four  had 
their  faces  and  their  wings  thus :  their  wings  were  joined  one  to  another ; 
they  turned  not  when  they  went ;  they  went  every  one  straight  forward. 
As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces,  they  had  the  face  of  a  man ;  and  they  four 
had  the  face  of  a  lion  on  the  right  side ;  and  they  four  had  the  face  of  an  ox 
on  the  left  side ;  they  four  had  also  the  face  of  an  eagle.  .  .  . 

And  above  the  firmament  that  was  over  their  heads  was  the  likenesa 
of  a  throne,  as  the  appearance  of  a  sapphire  stone ;  and  upon  the  likeness 
of  the  throne  was  a  likeness  as  the  'appearance  of  a  man  upon  it  above. 
And  I  saw  as  it  were  glowing  metal,  as  the  appearance  of  fire  within 
it  round  about,  from  the  appearance  of  his  loins  and  upward ;  and  from  the 
appearance  of  his  loins  and  downward  I  saw  as  it  were  the  appearance 
of  fire,  and  there  was  brightness  round  about  him.  As  the  appearance  of 
the  bow  that  is  in  the  cloud  in  the  day  of  rain,  so  was  the  appearance 
of  the  brightness  round  about.  This  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of 
the  glory  of  Jehovah.  And  when  I  saw  it,  I  fell  upon  my  face,  and  I  heard 
a  voice  of  one  that  spake. 

And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  stand  upon  thy  feet,  and  I  will 
speak  with  thee.  And  the  Spirit  entered  into  me  when  he  spake  unto 
me,  and  set  me  upon  my  feet;  and  I  heard  him  that  spake  unto  me. 
And  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  I  send  thee  to  the  children  of  Israel,  to 
nations  that  are  rebellious,  which  have  rebelled  against  me:  they  and 
their  fathers  have  transgressed  against  me  even  unto  this  very  day.  And 
the  children  are  impudent  and  stiff-hearted :  I  do  send  thee  unto  them ; 
and  thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah.  And  they, 
whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear  (for  they  are  a  rebel- 
lious house),  yet  shall  know  that  there  hath  been  a  prophet  among  them. 
And  thou,  son  of  man,  be  not  afraid  of  them,  neither  be  afraid  of  their 
words,  though  briers  and  thorns  are  with  thee,  and  thou  dost  dwell  among 
scorpions;  be  not  afraid  of  then*  words,  nor  be  dismayed  at  their  looks 
though  they  are  a  rebellious  house.  And  thou  shalt  speak  my  words  unto 
them,  whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  forbear ;  for  they  are 
most  rebellious.  .  .  . 

Then  the  Spirit  lifted  me  up,  and  I  heard  behind  me  the  voice  of  a  great 
rushing,  saying,  Blessed  be  the  glory  of  Jehovah  from  his  place.  And 
I  heard  the  noise  of  the  wings  of  the  living  creatures  as  they  touched  one 
another,  and  the  noise  of  the  wheels  beside  them,  even  the  noise  of  a  great 
rushing.  So  the  Spirit  lifted  me  up,  and  took  me  away ;  and  I  went  in 
bitterness,  in  the  heat  of  my  spirit ;  and  the  hand  of  Jehovah  was  strong 
upon  me.  Then  I  came  to  them  of  the  captivity  at  Tel-abib,  that  dwelt 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE     237 

by  the  river  Chebar,  and  to  where  they  dwelt;   and  I  sat  there  over- 
whelmed among  them  seven  days.1 

Aside  from  the  grotesque  combination  of  faces,  wheels,  wings, 
eyes,  burning  fire,  the  style  is  repetitious  and  prosaic  in  the  giving 
of  the  commission.  The  earlier  prophets  had  thought  in  the 
more  universal  language  of  the  hills  and  valleys,  the  clouds  and 
rains,  the  fruitful  fields  and  pastures  of  their  varied  landscape, 
or  in  the  hardly  less  universal  terms  of  the  homely  arts  of  the 
household  or  the  daily  toil  of  the  farmer  and  shepherd.  Why 
does  Ezekiel,  who  is  so  similar  to  them  in  his  message  and  his 
method  of  teaching,  adopt  this  outlandish  imagery? 

Five  years  have  now  passed  since  the  prophet  and  his  fellow 
exiles  lost  their  last  glimpse  of  the  Syrian  mountains  and  came 
to  live  on  the  monotonous  plain  of  Babylonia  where  a  princess 
from  the  north  was  once  so  lorn  for  a  glimpse  of  a  hill  that  her 
royal  spouse  constructed  for  her  that  wonder  of  the  ancient  world, 
a  park  with  artificial  hills,  the  "hanging  gardens  of  Babylon." 
On  the  unending  plain  of  Babylonia,  with  its  rank  crops  of  grain 
growing  wherever  the  great  sluggish  canals  brought  their  irrigating 
moisture ;  on  the  banks  of  one  of  these  ditches,  never  more  hearing 
the  music  of  mountain  torrent  or  looking  off  across  the  deep, 
broad  valley  to  the  red  wall  of  Moab,  or  up  to  white-capped 
Hermon,  Ezekiel  and  his  fellow  exiles  had  for  five  long  years  seen 
nought  but  the  stars  above  and  the  stupendous  works  of  men. 

The  American  excavations  at  Nippur  on  the  Chebar  canal  have 
revealed  the  rums  of  the  great  temple  of  Bel  and  other  structures 
with  imposing  sculptured  figures,  on  which  Ezekiel  and  his  hearers 
may  have  looked.  The  pictorial  imagination  of  the  Hebrew 
prophet  is  filled  now  with  the  imagery  of  Babylonia.  He  seizes 
upon  the  very  symbols,  composite  figures,  part  man,  part  beast, 
part  bird,  that  the  Babylonians  used  in  their  palaces  and  temples. 
Perhaps  we  should  say  these  have  filled  his  imagination  until  in 
a  night  of  intense  conviction,  they  appear  in  his  ecstatic  vision  in 
bewildering  confusion  and  new  combinations.  From  all  this, 
however,  there  comes  no  mere  fantastic  dream ;  rather  the  prophet 
of  conquered  Israel  sees  the  symbols  of  the  religion  whose  devotees 

>  Ezekiel  1  *-10,  1  »-2  7,  3  «-15. 


238  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL' 

have  conquered,  all  united  in  a  construction  that  speaks  of  life, 
power,  intelligence,  swift  and  purposeful  movement,  serving  as 
the  throne  and  chariot  of  the  God  of  defeated  Judea,  and  bringing 
him  to  his  exiled  follower  to  direct  and  strengthen  for  a  great 
task. 

The  mass  of  the  exiles  thought  of  Jehovah  as  dwelling  in  Judea 
and  in  his  temple.  Soon  Jerusalem  will  fall,  and  then  all  the 
world  will  know  that  Bel  and  Marduk  are  mightier  than  Jehovah. 
All  this  Ezekiel  understands  full  well,  but  with  the  "audacious 
certitude  of  faith"  that  ever  controls  the  true  prophet,  he  sees  his 
God  sitting  enthroned  above  all  such  great  symbolic  figures  as  in- 
spired the  awe  and  reverence  of  mighty  Babylon;  he  sees  him 
present  in  Babylon  itself. 

Every  Hebrew  prophet  lived  intensely  in  his  immediate  surround- 
ings and  spoke  to  his  generation  in  the  imagery  with  which  he 
and  they  were  daily  familiar ;  but  the  spirit  of  the  true  prophet 
rose  free  above  those  surroundings,  for  he  saw  over  and  through 
all  the  eternal  presence.  The  picturing  was  never  an  end  in  his 
wrord,  but  only  a  means  to  find  entrance  through  the  hard  forehead 
to  the  stiff  heart. 

In  Ezekiel's  painstaking  accuracy  as  to  dates  and  details,  we 
have  perhaps  the  mark  of  this  prophet's  priestly  training;  in 
larger  measure,  the  influence  of  Babylonian  culture.  With  that 
commercial  people  the  date  of  a  document  was  of  large  concern, 
and  accurate  systems  of  dating  were  early  developed.  To  the 
spirit  of  earlier  Israel  this  had  been  very  foreign.  Amos  might 
date  his  message  three  years  before  the  earthquake,  but  from  what 
point  was  the  earthquake  dated  ? 

The  symbolism  of  Ezekiel,  his  exact  and  repetitious  style,  and 
some  of  his  leading  ideas  become  paramount  influences  in  the  post- 
exilic  literature.  Ezekiel  is  indeed  a  most  significant  transition 
figure  in  the  literary  history  of  Israel.  With  roots  struck  deep  in 
the  past  he  was  yet  intensely  alive  to  the  present  surroundings  and 
future  needs  of  his  people. 

At  the  time  of  the  final  siege  of  Jerusalem,  Ezekiel's  wife  dies, 
yet  the  prophet  refrains  from  all  the  outward  acts  of  mourning, 
something  almost  inconceivable  in  the  east.  Through  such 
extreme  action,  he  becomes,  as  Isaiah  in  captive  garb  had  been, 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  EN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE    239 

a  living  prophecy  of   the   stunning   grief    that   is  to   fall    upon 
Judah.1 

With  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  the  whole  tenor  of  Ezekiel's 
message  is  changed.  The  period  of  inactivity  that  lasted  uatil 
the  news  of  the  city's  fall  reached  Babylon  may  have  served  to 
prepare  the  prophet  for  the  new  task  now  before  him.  The  por- 
tion of  the  book  of  Ezekiel  that  contains  the  oracles  of  the  new 
period  begins  with  a  stern  self-examination  of  the  prophet's  grave 
responsibility.  Ezekiel  does  not  hesitate  to  apply  his  doctrine  of 
individual  responsibility  to  himself  as  the  watchman  upon  whom 
the  blood  of  the  city  rests  if  he  perform  not  his  duty. 

And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man,  speak 
to  the  children  of  thy  people,  and  say  unto  them,  When  I  bring  the 
sword  upon  a  land,  and  the  people  of  the  land  take  a  man  from  among 
them,  and  set  him  for  their  watchman ;  if,  when  he  seeth  the  sword  come 
upon  the  land,  he  blow  the  trumpet,  and  warn  the  people ;  then  whoso- 
ever heareth  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  taketh  not  warning,  if  the 
sword  come,  and  take  him  away,  his  blood  shall  be  upon  his  own  head. 
He  heard  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  took  not  warning ;  his  blood  shall 
be  upon  him ;  whereas  if  he  had  taken  warning,  he  would  have  delivered 
his  soul.  But  if  the  watchman  see  the  sword  come,  and  blow  not  the 
trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not  warned,  and  the  sword  come,  and  take 
any  person  from  among  them ;  he  is  taken  away  in  his  iniquity,  but  his 
blood  will  I  require  at  the  watchman's  hand. 

So  thou,  son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of 
Israel ;  therefore  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning  from 
me.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  0  wicked  man,  thou  shalt  surely  die, 
and  thou  dost  not  speak  to  warn  the  wicked  from  his  way ;  that  wicked 
man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thy  hand. 
Nevertheless,  if  thou  warn  the  wicked  of  his  way  to  turn  from  it,  and  he 
turn  not  from  his  way ;  he  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  but  thou  hast  delivered 
thy  soul.2 

After  this  preface  our  prophet  turns  to  meet  the  need  of  those 
who  are  crushed,  feeling  that  they  cannot  live  under  the  judgment 
which  has  fallen  upon  them ;  he  turns  to  assure  them  that  Jehovah 
has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  desires  rather 
that  they  turn  from  their  evil  ways  and  live.  Previously  Eze- 
kiel's message  has  been  one  of  doom,  and  this  has  been  necessary 
i  24  «-H  *  33  *-». 


240  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

to  prepare  the  people  for  the  blow  that  was  coming,  but  now 
when  they  are  crushed  under  the  stroke  and  are  ready  to  accuse 
Jehovah  of  cruel  delight  in  punishment,  the  prophet  must  find 
thoughts  of  hope.  Weak  despair  is  as  fatal  now  as  was  vain  hope 
before. 

Ezekiel  now  finds  himself  a  popular  preacher ;  he  has  been  vin- 
dicated and  the  false  prophets,  we  may  surmise,  silenced.  He 
is  the  talk  of  the  town,  they  flock  to  hear  him,  they  enjoy  his 
discourse,  but  they  do  not  his  words. 

And  as  for  thee,  son  of  man,  the  children  of  thy  people  talk  of  thee  by 
the  walls  and  in  the  doors  of  the  houses,  and  speak  one  to  another,  every 
one  to  his  brother,  saying,  Come,  I  pray  you,  and  hear  what  is  the  word 
that  cometh  forth  from  Jehovah.  And  they  come  unto  thee  as  the  people 
cometh,  and  they  sit  before  thee  as  my  people,  and  they  hear  thy  words, 
but  do  them  not ;  for  with  their  mouth  they  show  much  love,  but  their 
heart  goeth  after  their  gain.  And,  lo,  thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely 
song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument ; 
for  they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not.1 

Still  undismayed  the  prophet  preaches.  Through  him  Jehovah 
promises  to  gather  his  sheep  out  of  all  places  whither  they  'have 
been  scattered,  to  feed  them  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel  by  the 
watercourses,  himself  becoming  their  shepherd. 

In  the  vision  of  the  valley  filled  with  dry  bones,  Ezekiel  addresses 
himself  again  to  those  who  have  given  up  in  despair,  who  say 
"Our  bones  are  dried  up,  and  our  hope  is  lost;  we  are  clean  cut 
off."  Again,  by  uniting  two  sticks,  he  represents  figuratively 
a  promised  reunion  between  Judah  and  Northern  Israel,  with  one 
Davidic  king  ruling. 

The  prophecy  of  King  Gog,  who  with  the  hordes  from  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  north  is  to  attack  Judah,  gives  Ezekiel's  peculiar, 
fantastic,  yet  realistic  imagination  full  play.  The  strange  picture 
which  the  prophet  here  develops  of  a  great  gathering  of  the  distant 
nations  against  Jehovah's  people  to  be  cut  off  with  terrible  slaughter 
just  when  victory  seems  certain,  may  have  its  suggestion  far  back 
in  the  days  when  Isaiah  promised  such  fate  to  the  incoming  hordes 
of  Assyria,  but  in  Ezekiel  the  picture  becomes  generalized  to 

1  33   30-32. 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE     241 

include  any  distant  and  terrible  nations  and  to  mark  Jehovah's 
ultimate  vindication  of  his  power.  In  this  general  form,  the 
vision  of  Ezekiel  is  the  prototype  of  the  many  apocalypses  that 
follow ;  by  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  the  apocalypse  seems 
almost  the  only  form  of  literature  in  vogue  in  Palestine.  If 
Isaiah's  picture  of  Assyria's  advance  and  downfall  gave  form  to  the 
hope,  Ezekiel's  firm  conviction  that  Jehovah  must  win  back  his 
lost  prestige  gave  it  substance.  This  conception  comes  to  expres- 
sion again  and  again  in  chapters  33-39. l 

Chapters  40  to  48  contain  plans  for  the  rebuilt  temple,  the 
reestablished  worship,  and  the  reapportioned  land.  The  temple 
proper  is  evidently  to  be  like  the  old  temple  of  Solomon,  destroyed 
by  Nebuchadrezzar,  but  its  outer  courts  and  gates  are  to  be 
constructed  on  a  scale  quite  unknown  to  the  preexilic  temple. 
The  worship,  too,  is  to  be  marked  by  certain  refinements  and 
developments  unknown  to  the  law  of  Deuteronomy  and  other 
preexilic  literature.  The  land  from  the  border  of  Damascus 
northward  beside  Hamath,  in  the  Lebanon  region,  and  south  to 
Kadesh,  the  centre  of  the  ancient  wilderness  sojourn,  is  to  be 
divided  into  twelve  horizontal  bands  from  the  east  side  to  the 
west  side,  each  the  portion  of  a  tribe.  Seven  of  the  divisions  are 
north  of  Jerusalem  and  five  south.  In  the  centre  lies  the  sanctuary, 
with  the  land  of  priests  and  Levites  and  the  prince's  portion.  In 
this  final  vision  of  the  restored  Israel,  the  priest  Ezekiel  gives  free 
rein  to  himself.  The  great  preexilic  prophets  had  minimized 
or  denounced  ritual;  Ezekiel,  although  he  shares  something  of 
their  ethical  insight,  finds  the  climax  of  his  hopes  hi  a  more  highly 
developed  priestly  organization  of  life  than  had  been  dreamt  in 
the  days  of  the  monarchy.  In  this  line  of  thought,  too,  he  be- 
comes a  controlling  force  upon  post-exilic  Judaism  which,  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  later,  enters  upon  its  era  of  almost  complete 
legalism. 

Some  of  Ezekiel's  imagery  in  his  prophecies  after  586  is  beau- 
tiful. Supremely  so  is  his  picture  of  the  Divine  shepherd  with 
the  selfish  shepherds  who  have  tended  the  flock  of  Israel  and 
have  permitted  the  fat  sheep  to  shoulder  away  the  lean  and 
weak. 

1 36  »-*6,  37  28,  38  ». 
B 


242  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man,  prophesy 
against  the  shepherds  of  Israel,  prophesy,  and  say  unto  them,  even  to  the 
shepherds,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah:  Woe  unto  the  shepherds  of 
Israel  that  do  feed  themselves  !  Should  not  the  shepherds  feed  the  sheep  ? 
Ye  eat  the  fat,  and  ye  clothe  you  with  the  wool,  ye  kill  the  fatlings ;  but 
ye  feed  not  the  sheep.  The  diseased  have  ye  not  strengthened,  neither 
have  ye  healed  that  which  was  sick,  neither  have  ye  bound  up  that  which 
was  broken,  neither  have  ye  brought  back  that  which  was  driven  away, 
neither  have  ye  sought  that  which  was  lost ;  but  with  force  and  with  rigor 
have  ye  ruled  over  them.  And  they  were  scattered,  because  there  was  no 
shepherd ;  and  they  became  food  to  all  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  were 
scattered.  My  sheep  wandered  through  all  the  mountains,  and  upon  every 
high  hill ;  yea,  my  sheep  were  scattered  upon  all  the  face  of  the  earth ; 
and  there  was  none  that  did  search  or  seek  after  them.  .  .  . 

For  thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah:  Behold,  I  myself,  even  I,  will  search 
for  my  sheep,  and  will  seek  them  out.  As  a  shepherd  seeketh  out  his 
flock  in  the  day  that  he  is  among  his  sheep  that  are  scattered  abroad,  so 
will  I  seek  out  my  sheep ;  and  I  will  deliver  them  out  of  all  places  whither 
they  have  been  scattered  in  the  cloudy  and  dark  day.  And  I  will  bring 
them  out  from  the  peoples,  and  gather  them  from  the  countries,  and  will 
bring  them  into  their  own  land ;  and  I  will  feed  them  upon  the  mountains 
of  Israel,  by  the  watercourses,  and  in  all  the  inhabited  places  of  the 
country.  I  will  feed  them  with  good  pasture ;  and  upon  the  mountains 
of  the  height  of  Israel  shall  their  fold  be:  there  shall  they  lie  down  in  a 
good  fold;  and  on  fat  pasture  shall  they  feed  upon  the  mountains  of 
Israel.  I  myself  will  be  the  shepherd  of  my  sheep,  and  I  will  cause  them 
to  lie  down,  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah.  I  will  seek  that  which  was  lost, 
and  will  bring  back  that  which  was  driven  away,  and  will  bind  up  that 
which  was  broken,  and  will  strengthen  that  which  was  sick:  but  the  fat 
and  the  strong  I  will  destroy ;  I  will  feed  them  in  justice. 

And  as  for  you,  0  my  flock,  thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah :  Behold,  I 
judge  between  sheep  and  sheep,  the  rams  and  the  he-goats.  Seemeth  it 
a  small  thing  unto  you  to  have  fed  upon  the  good  pasture,  but  ye  must 
tread  down  with  your  feet  the  residue  of  your  pasture  ?  and  to  have 
drunk  of  the  clear  waters,  but  ye  must  foul  the  residue  with  your  feet  ? 
And  as  for  my  sheep,  they  eat  that  which  ye  have  trodden  with  your 
feet,  and  they  drink  that  which  ye  have  fouled  with  your  feet. 

Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah  unto  them :  Behold,  I,  even  I, 
will  judge  between  the  fat  sheep  and  the  lean  sheep.  Because  ye  thrust 
with  side  and  with  shoulder,  and  push  all  the  diseased  with  your  horns, 
till  ye  have  scattered  them  abroad ;  therefore  will  I  save  my  flock,  and 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE    243 

they  shall  no  more  be  a  prey ;  and  I  will  judge  between  sheep  and  sheep. 
And  I  will  set  up  one  shepherd  over  them,  and  he  shall  feed  them,  even 
my  servant  David ;  he  shall  feed  them,  and  he  shall  be  their  shepherd. 
And  I,  Jehovah,  will  be  then*  God,  and  my  servant  David  prince  among 
them;  I,  Jehovah,  have  spoken  it.1 

The  picture  of  the  prophet  as  watchman  is  most  effective;  it 
truly  expresses  vital  thought  and  in  a  way  that  grips  the  memory  ; 
yet  it  is  in  sharpest  contrast  to  Isaiah's  imagery.  In  Isaiah  illus- 
trations came  tumbling  over  each  other,  fifteen  or  sixteen  different 
ones  in  a  short  chapter,  three  or  four  in  a  verse.  When  he  did 
permit  himself  to  carry  out  one  illustration  at  length,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  ship  laboring  in  the  storm,  all  was  spontaneous  action  and 
sudden  transition  to  some  new  aspect  of  the  scene.  Ezekiel  works 
out  deliberately  his  illustration  of  the  watchman  through  nine 
verses  and  uses  this  to  introduce  an  address  that  contains  not  one 
illustration  or  bit  of  figurative  language.  In  the  main,  the  address 
is  a  series  of  general  statements.  In  this  respect,  too,  it  is  in 
sharpest  contrast  to  the  method  of  the  early  prophets  who  almost 
never  made  a  generalization,  but  put  everything  into  specific, 
concrete  pictures.  Once  in  this  address,  Ezekiel  gives  an  example 
or  two  of  specific  sins  (33  15),  and  once,  by  attributing  words  to 
the  people,  he  gives  a  little  human  touch  that  shows  why  he  was 
preaching  this  sermon ;  now  that  Jehovah's  judgment  had  fallen, 
it  seemed  to  the  people  to  have  come  unjustly,  as  we  have  seen 
elsewhere. 

In  chapter  36,  the  address  to  the  mountains,  rivers,  and  valleys 
of  Israel  gives  some  picturesqueness,  though  the  semi-personifica- 
tion is  carried  out  much  more  elaborately  than  in  the  earlier 
prophets.  It  is  generally  true  of  Ezekiel  that  he  elaborates  and 
becomes  labored  when  he  essays  any  figure  of  speech.  He  seems 
to  say  to  himself,  "Go  to  now,  and  let  us  speak  in  a  figure,"  and 
when  he  has  once  found  a  good  comparison,  he  can  hardly  let  go. 
Occasionally  a  figurative  expression  seems  almost  unconscious; 
such  an  one  is,  "I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh." 

In  the  present  arrangement  of  the  book  of  Ezekiel,  there  stands 
between  the  group  of  prophecies  delivered  before  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  and  those  just  considered,  a  collection  of  oracles  con- 


244  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

earning  foreign  nations  —  Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  Philistia, 
Tyre,  Sidon,  Egypt.  In  distant  Babylonia,  the  alert  prophet 
learned  of  the  treatment  of  Judah  by  its  vengeful,  jealous  neigh- 
bors and  maintained  keen  interest  in  the  fates  of  Phoenicia  and 
Egypt.  His  taunting  dirges  over  Tyre  and  over  the  Egyptian 
king  are  especially  interesting  to  the  student  of  literature.  Rud- 
yard  Kipling  took  no  more  satisfaction  in  exhibiting  his  technical 
knowledge  in  "The  Ship  that  Found  Herself"  than  Ezekiel  in 
bringing  his  knowledge  of  geography  and  commerce  into  the 
description  of  the  ship  of  state  that  foundered.  This  is  true  even 
though  verses  9b  to  25a  may  be  no  part  of  the  dirge.  The  fact 
that  the  figure  of  the  ship  disappears  in  these  verses  and  that  the 
characteristic  elegiac  metre  is  also  wanting  makes  it  probable  that 
originally  the  dirge  did  not  contain  this  s  ction.  With  this 
omitted  we  have  a  sarcastic  lament  over  the  anticipated  wreck  of 
Tyre  in  which  the  qina  metre  l  may  be  seen  to  excellent  advan- 
tage. Tyre  is  at  the  time  of  writing  supreme  in  all  Phoenicia; 
hence  the  men  of  the  other  cities,  Sidon,  Arvad,  and  Byblos,  may 
well  be  represented  as  her  rowers  and  calkers. 

Tyre,  thou  saidst :  A  ship  am  I ;  perfect  in  beauty. 

In  the  heart  of  the  sea  is  thy  bound  ;  thy  builders  perfected  thy  beauty. 

Of  cypress  from  Hermon  they  made  for  thee,  all  thy  planks. 

A  cedar  from  Lebanon  they  took,  a  mast  to  form. 

Of  lofty  oaks  from  Bashan,  they  fashioned  thy  oars ; 

Thy  deck,  of  ivory  with  boxwood,  from  the  Cyprian  isles. 

Fine  linen  with  broidery  from  Egypt  was  thy  canvas. 

Violet  and  purple  from  the  coasts  of  Greece,  were  thy  hangings. 

The  men  of  Sidon  and  Arvad,  were  thy  oarsmen. 

Thy  own  skilful  ones,  Tyre,  were  in  thee ;  they  were  thy  pilots. 

The  elders  of  Byblos  were  in  thee,  menders  of  thy  rents ; 

And  thou  wast  filled  and  greatly  laden,  in  the  heart  of  the  seas. 

Onto  the  high  seas  they  brought  thee,  those  rowing  thee. 

The  east  wind  shattered  thee,  in  the  heart  of  the  waters. 

Thy  wealth  and  wares,  thy  merchandise,  thy  mariners  and  sailors, 

Menders  of  thy  rents,  thy  merchants,  and  all  thy  warriors 

Shall  fall  into  the  heart  of  the  sea,  on  the  day  of  thy  fall. 

At  the  sound  of  the  cry  of  thy  pilots,  thy  rowers  ( ?)  shall  tremble ; 

And  shall  leave  their  ships,  all  who  grasp  an  oar. 

1  See  p.  32. 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE    245 

Mariners,  all  sailors  of  the  sea,  on  the  land  shall  they  stand, 
And  shall  utter  their  voice  over  thee,  and  bitterly  cry, 
And  dust  shall  cast  on  their  heads,  shall  roll  in  ashes, 
Shall  make  a  baldness  for  thee,  and  sackcloth  gird  on, 
For  thee  weep  in  bitterness  of  soul,  mourning  bitterly, 
And  shall  take  up  a  dirge  over  thee,  and  lament  over  thee : 
Who  was  lofty  as  Tyre,  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  ? 
When  thy  wares  came  from  the  seas,  thou  didst  supply  peoples. 
By  abundance  of  wealth  and  goods,  thou  madest  rich  earth's  kings. 
Now  art  thou  shattered  in  the  sea,  hi  depths  of  watery. 
Thy  wares  and  all  thy  people,  sank  hi  thy  midst. 
All  dwellers  on  the  coasts  are  awestruck  at  thee, 
And  their  kings  are  greatly  horrified,  then-  faces  are  pallid. 
The  merchants  of  the  peoples  are  shocked  at  thee;  thou  art  a  destruc- 
tion, 
And  shalt  be  nought  forever.1 

The  lament  over  Egypt  is  of  greater  literary  interest.  Both 
the  conception  and  the  construction  of  this  primitive  "Inferno" 
are  notable.  The  refrain  is  tantalizing.  Read  the  poem  and  you 
will  catch  its  cadence  every  few  lines ;  take  the  printed  text  and 
try  to  underscore  this  refrain  at  each  recurrence  and  you  are 
curiously  baffled  in  trying  to  determine  which  clauses  to  include. 
Possibly  some  of  the  irregularity  may  be  due  to  the  corruption  of 
the  text ;  this  varies  greatly  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  and  is 
highly  unsatisfactory  in  each.  The  original  form  of  the  dirge 
may  have  run  somewhat  as  follows :  — 

Than  whom  art  thou  more  beautiful?   go  down  and  be  laid  with  the 

uncircumcised. 

Among  the  sword-slain  shall  they  fall,  to  the  sword  is  she  given. 
Mighty  warriors  shall  speak  to  him,  with  his  helpers,  from  out  Sheol : 
They  are  gone  down,  they  lie,  the  uncircumcised,  slain  of  the  sword. 

There  is  Asshur  and  all  her  host,  about  her  grave ; 

All  of  them  slain,  fallen  by  the  sword, 

Whose  graves  are  placed  in  the  uttermost  pit, 

And  her  host  is  about  her  grave. 

All  of  them  slain,  fallen  by  the  sword, 

Who  caused  terror  hi  the  land  of  the  living. 

1  EzeMel  27  3b-9»,  «&-».  FOT  emendations  of  the  text  see  especially  Ber- 
tholet,  Das  Buck  Hesekial,  Kurzer  Hand-Commentar  and  Kittel,  Bib.  Heb. 


246  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

There  is  Elam  and  all  her  host;  about  her  grave. 

All  of  them  slain,  fallen  by  the  sword, 

Who  went  down  uncircumcised  to  the  netherworld, 

Who  caused  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living, 

And  they  bear  their  shame  with  those  who  go  down  to  the  pit.1 

There  is  Mesech-Tubal  and  all  her  host  about  her  grave, 

All  of  them  uncircumcised,  sword-slain, 

For  their  terror  was  put  in  the  land  of  the  living ; 

And  they  lie  not  with  the  fallen  heroes  of  old, 

Who  went  down  to  Sheol  with  their  weapons  of  war, 

And  laid  their  swords  beneath  their  heads, 

And  their  shields  upon  their  bones ; 

For  the  terror  of  their  might  was  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

Thou  too  in  the  midst  of  the  uncircumcised  shalt  lie, 

With  the  slain  of  the  sword. 

There  is  Edom,  her  kings  and  all  her  princes, 
Who  are  laid  in  their  might  with  the  sword-slain. 
They  with  the  uncircumcised  shall  lie, 
And  with  those  who  go  down  to  the  pit. 

There  are  the  princes  of  the  north  and  all  the  Zidonians, 

Who  went  down  slain  in  the  terror  of  their  might, 

And  lie  uncircumcised  with  the  sword-slain. 

And  they  bear  their  shame  with  those  who  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Then  shall  Pharaoh  see  and  be  comforted  for  all  his  host. 

Oracle  of  the  Lord  Jehovah. 

For  he  caused  his  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living, 

And  he  shall  be  laid  in  the  midst  of  the  uncircumcised, 

With  the  sword-slain, 

Even  Pharaoh  and  all  his  company. 

Oracle  of  the  Lord  Yahweh.2 

While  Ezekiel  sang,  with  a  prophet's  confidence,  anticipatory 
dirges  over  Tyre  and  Pharaoh,  other  poets  were  uttering  heart- 
broken laments  over  Jerusalem.  Traditionally  these  are  ascribed 
to  the  prophet  Jeremiah.  It  is  conceivable  that  he  may  have 
composed  one  or  more  of  the  dirges,  although  our  knowledge  of 

1  Verse  25  omitted  ;  so  Toy  and  Bertholet.  Septuagint  omits  all  but  one 
clause.  2  Ezekiel  32  19~32. 


PROPHECY   AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OF  EXILE     247 

Jeremiah's  personality  and  literary  style,  gathered  from  the 
writings  that  are  certainly  his,  does  not  favor  this  theory.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  believe  that  Jeremiah  wrote  the  fifth  lament 
with  its  outcry  "Our  fathers  have  sinned  and  are  not,  and  we  have 
borne  their  iniquities/'  for  this  is  contradictory  to  the  great 
doctrine  that  Jeremiah  first  enunciated  in  sharp  opposition  to 
those  who  held  that  they  were  suffering  for  their  fathers'  sins.1 
The  author  of  the  fourth  lament  (verse  17)  apparently  identifies 
himself  with  those  who  looked  for  help  from  Egypt,  of  whom 
Jeremiah  was  never  one.  In  2  9,  the  statement  that  the  prophets 
of  the  daughter  of  Zion  find  no  vision  from  Jehovah  sounds  strange 
in  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah ;  while  the  closing  verses 
of  Lamentations  1  and  3  seem  out  of  harmony  with  Jeremiah's 
ideas  concerning  the  Chaldeans  as  Jehovah's  instrument. 

The  book  of  Lamentations  exhibits  the  Hebrew  elegy  in  its 
perfection  of  artistic  development.  The  typical  elegiac  metre 
is  realized  with  a  uniformity  that  one  rarely  finds  in  Hebrew 
verses  as  they  have  come  down  to  us.  The  verse-structure  is  felt 
even  in  a  translation  that  makes  no  effort  to  reproduce  the  metrical 
effect  of  the  original.  In  addition  to  their  rigid  metrical  form, 
the  first  four  poems  are  acrostics.  A  few  lines  of  each  in  a  trans- 
lation that  seeks  to  reproduce  this  feature  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  form :  — 

Alas !  how  doth  the  city  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people ! 
how  is  she  become  as  a  widow,  she  that  was  great  among  the  nations, 
the  princess  among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become  tributary  I 

By  night  she  weepeth,  the  tears  are  on  her  cheeks, 
among  all  her  lovers  she  hath  none  left  to  comfort  her; 
all  her  friends  have  dealt  treacherously  with  her,  they  are  become 
her  enemies. 

Thus  the  poem  goes  on  through  the  twenty-two  letters  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet.  The  second  is  of  similar  structure,  but  hi  the 
third  the  three  lines  of  each  group  begin  with  the  same  letter :  — 

Am  I  not  the  man  that  have  seen  affliction  by  the  rod  of  his  wrath  ? 
Aye,  He  hath  brought  me  into  darkness,  not  into  light ; 
Against  me  only  turneth  He  His  hand  all  the  day  long. 

1  Jeremiah  31  Z9~30 ;  cf.  p.  225. 


248  THE  LITERATURE  OF   ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Broken  of  Him  are  my  bones,  my  flesh  and  my  skin  hath  He  wasted  away ; 
Builded  hath  He  against  me;    He  hath  compassed  me  with  gall  and 

travail, 
Brought  me  into  dark  places,  as  they  that  be  dead  of  old. 

The  fourth  lament  is  arranged  in  distichs  beginning  with  the 
successive  letters :  — 
Alas,  how  is  the  gold  become  dim,  how  is  the  most  fine  gold  changed ! 

the  stones  of  the  sanctuary  are  poured  out  in  the  top  of  every  street  t 
Behold  the  sons  of  Sion,  the  precious  ones,  comparable  to  fine  gold  ! 

how  are  they  esteemed  as  earthen  pitchers,  the  work  of  the  hands  of  the 
potter!1 

The  fifth  dirge  is  written  in  twenty-two  distichs,  like  the  fourth, 
but  the  lines  are  not  alphabetical. 

In  these  elegies,  it  is  clear  that  we  do  not  have  the  free,  un- 
hampered verse  of  the  prophets  or  of  the  earlier  days  of  Hebrew 
song ;  we  find,  rather,  the  apparent  spontaneity  of  art  that  has 
attained  mastery  of  its  particular  form  so  that  it  is  not  hampered 
by  the  form,  however  rigid  this  may  be.  The  terminology,  as 
well  as  the  structure,  has  become  somewhat  conventionalized.  In 
2,  for  example,  we  hear  constantly  of  the  daughter  of  Judah,  the 
daughter  of  Zion,  the  virgin  daughter  of  Zion.  The  figure  is  that 
met  in  Amos's  little  elegy  two  hundred  years  before.  Such 
conventional  phraseology  is  generally  characteristic  of  lyric  poetry. 
That  the  conventionalities  of  form  and  phraseology  were  thoroughly 
mastered  will  be  obvious  to  one  who  reads  with  this  in  mind 

2  8-10.  12.  14.  15^2 

Jehovah  hath  purposed  to  destroy  the  wall  of  the  daughter  of  Zion ; 

He  hath  stretched  out  the  line,  he  hath  not  withdrawn  his  hand  from 

destroying : 
And  he  hath  made  the  rampart  and  wall  to  lament ;  they  languish  together. 

1  Translations  taken  from  The  Psalms  Chronologically  Arranged,  by 
Four  Friends,  pp.  421  ff. 

2  Woodberry  notes  (Appreciation  of  Literature,  p.  30)  that  the  imagery 
of  lyric  poetry  has  these  elements  of  permanence ;  the  nightingale,  the 
serenade,  the  enclosed  garden,  the  Eden  isle  are  images  and  situations 
charged  with  associations  of  long  use ;  "they  are,  in  fact,  a  ritual  of  love 
service,  and  possess  a  ceremonial  beauty  and  solemnity ;  they  are  parts 
of  ancient  poetic  worship.  They  are  like  a  fixed  musical  scale  on  which 
the  emotion  which  is  the  imageless  burden  of  song,  rises  and  falls." 


PROPHECY  AND  ELEGY  IN  EARLY  YEARS  OP  EXILE  249 

Her  gates  are  sunk  into  the  ground ;  he  hath  destroyed  and  broken  her  bars: 
Her  king  and  her  princes  are  among  the  nations  where  the  law  is  not ; 
Yea,  her  prophets  find  no  vision  from  Jehovah. 

The  elders  of  the  daughter  of  Zion  sit  upon  the  ground,  they  keep  silence ; 
They  have  cast  up  dust  upon  their  heads ;  they  have  girded  themselves 

with  sackcloth : 

The  virgins  of  Jerusalem  hang  down  their  heads  to  the  ground. 
They  say  to  their  mothers,  Where  is  grain  and  wine  ? 
When  they  swoon  as  the  wounded  in  the  streets  of  the  city, 
When  their  soul  is  poured  out  into  their  mothers'  bosom. 
Thy  prophets  have  seen  for  thee  false  and  foolish  visions ; 
And  they  have  not  uncovered  thine  iniquity,  to  bring  back  thy  captivity, 
But  have  seen  for  thee  false  oracles  and  causes  of  banishment. 
All  that  pass  by  clap  their  hands  at  thee ; 

They  hiss  and  wag  their  head  at  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem,  saying, 
Is  this  the  city  that  men  called  The  perfection  of  beauty,  The  joy  of  the 

whole  earth  ? 

The  writer  pictures  the  capture  of  the  city,  the  grief  of  the  people, 
the  concrete  cause  of  their  ruin,  the  joy  and  taunts  of  their  enemies 
almost  as  vividly  as  Isaiah  could  have  done  in  his  utterly  free  and 
varied  literary  form.  One  may  not  say  as  much  for  the  spontaneity 
of  the  preceding  poem,  yet  the  varied  imagery  throughout  even  this 
one  compares  not  unfavorably  with  that  of  the  earlier  compositions 
which  were  not  poured  into  any  such  rigid  mould.  We  marvel  at 
the  artistic  perfection  which  the  elegy  attained  in  ancient  Israel. 

It  is  commonly  noted  that  the  lyric  temper  tends  to  sadness ; 
and  Cheyne,  a  Biblical  scholar  of  literary  culture,  exclaims,  "Is 
there  another  such  book  in  the  whole  world  —  such  an  'almost 
unalloyed  expression  of  unrestrained  anguish  and  utter,  uncon- 
solable  desolation'?"  1  The  writer  of  the  article  Poetry2  in  the 
ninth  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  placing  the  Hebrew 
lyric  above  the  Greek  lyric  in  its  combination  of  "  unconscious 
power  with  unconscious  grace,"  holds  that  the  "Great  Lyric" 
must  be  an  outpouring  of  the  soul  not  toward  man,  but  toward 
God.  We  cannot  attribute  the  "unconsolable  desolation"  of  the 
poems  of  Lamentations  to  the  mere  personal  grief  of  a  man  who 
has  seen  affliction,  or  to  patriotic  sorrow  for  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  coupled  with  sympathy  for  exiled  countrymen.  As 

1  Jeremiah,  His  Life  and  Times,  p.  181.  2  Theodore  Watts. 


250  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

the  Hebrew  lyric  of  joy  attained  its  greatest  heights  only  in  the 
rapturous  outpouring  of  the  poet's  soul  to  his  God;  the  Hebrew 
song  of  mourning  attained  its  greatest  perfection,  not  in  sorrow 
for  the  dead,  but  in  anguish  when  the  wrath  of  God  was  poured 
out  upon  the  sin  of  His  people. 

It  may  be  that  not  all  the  poems  of  Lamentations  were  composed 
in  the  early  years  of  the  exile ;  but  all  except  the  third  seem  quite 
clearly  to  have  the  conditions  of  this  period  as  their  background, 
and  no  important  reasons  appear  for  regarding  2  and  4,  at  least, 
as  of  any  later  date. 

Whether  the  brief  oracle  of  Obadiah  was  occasioned  by  the 
conduct  of  the  Edomites  at  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  586  or 
by  the  circumstances  of  some  later  time  is  not  wholly  clear.  At 
the  time  of  the  exile,  we  know  that  the  Edomites  took  advantage 
of  the  depopulation  of  Judea  to  extend  their  territory  northward ; 
Ezekiel  speaks  of  "all  Idumea  which  have  appointed  my  land 
into  their  possession." x  It  may  well  be  that  the  picture  given  in 
Obadiah  describes  the  conduct  of  the  Edomites  in  586  B.C. 

For  the  violence  done  to  thy  brother  Jacob,  shame  shall  cover  thee, 
and  thou  shalt  be  cut  off  for  ever.  In  the  day  that  thou  stoodest  on  the 
other  side,  in  the  day  that  strangers  carried  away  his  substance,  and  for- 
eigners entered  into  his  gates,  and  cast  lots  upon  Jerusalem,  even  thou 
wast  as  one  of  them.  But  look  not  thou  on  the  day  of  thy  brother  in  the 
day  of  his  disaster,  and  rejoice  not  over  the  children  of  Judah  in  the  day 
of  their  destruction ;  neither  speak  proudly  in  the  day  of  distress.  Enter 
not  into  the  gate  of  my  people  in  the  day  of  their  calamity;  yea,  look 
not  thou  on  their  affliction  in  the  day  of  their  calamity,  neither  lay  ye 
hands  on  their  substance  in  the  day  of  their  calamity.  And  stand  thou 
not  in  the  crossway,  to  cut  off  those  of  his  that  escape ;  and  deliver  not 
up  those  of  his  that  remain  in  the  day  of  distress.2 

Despite  its  brevity,  Obadiah  is  certainly  a  composite  writing; 
the  verses  preceding  those  given  above  contain  an  older  oracle 
against  Edom  that  has  no  special  reference  to  the  circumstances 
of  Obadiah's  time.3  The  closing  verses  of  Obadiah  give  a  glorious 
outlook  for  the  future  of  Jerusalem. 

1  36  6.  2  Obadiah  10-14. 

3  Essentially  the  same  oracle  is  given  at  an  earlier  date  in  Jeremiah 
49  14~16-  9~loa-  7.  That  Obadiah  does  not  quote  from  Jeremiah  seems 
clear  from  the  fact  that  he  has  the  material  in  the  better  order.  Both 
prophets  quote  an  earlier  prophecy. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

PEOPHETIC   PRINCIPLES   APPLIED   TO   HISTORY 

(About  600  to  550  B.C.) 

ISRAEL'S  narrative  writing  during  the  two  centuries  from  the 
time  of  the  united  kingdom  to  the  period  of  Amos,  produced  the 
fresh  and  beautiful  stories  of  Saul  and  David,  of  the  Judges,  of 
Moses,  of  the  Patriarchs,  and  of  pre-patriarchal  times,  of  Israel's 
wars  with  Syria,  and  of  the  deeds  of  Elijah  and  other  early  prophets. 
Much  of  this  material  is  so  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Israel's 
prophets  that  some  of  the  documents  are  commonly  called  pro- 
phetic histories.  The  Joseph  narratives,  for  example,  show  that 
before  the  days  of  Amos  and  Isaiah,  Israel's  God  was  conceived 
in  terms  both  ethical  and  international ;  for  Joseph  to  sin  against 
his  Egyptian  master  was  to  sin  against  God,1  and  God  was  thought 
of  as  using  even  the  evil  purposes  of  man  to  bring  about  beneficent 
ends.2 

Our  study  has  showed  that  narrative  prose  writing  was  not 
stopped  by  the  coming  of  the  great  era  of  prophetic  -literature,  yet 
the  first  great  age  of  historical  prose  writing  had  reached  its 
fruition  before  750  B.C.,  and  that  which  followed  in  the  next  cen- 
tury was  only  an  aftermath.  The  fresh  creative  genius  of  Israel 
was  now  occupied  with  present  crises  and  was  expressing  itself  in 
the  varied  forms  of  the  prophetic  oracles  or,  when  public  speech 
was  forcibly  checked,  was  busied  in  formulating  its  great  principles 
into  working  laws.  Thus  the  new  prophetic  movement  and  the 
experiences  of  Manasseh's  reactionary  reign  occasioned  the  great 
code  of  Deuteronomy;  again,  Deuteronomy  and  the  experience 
of  the  exile  occasioned  the  second  great  era  of  historical  writing. 

The  leading  ideas  of  Deuteronomy  seemed  to  receive  absolute, 
divine  sanction  by  the  fact  of  the  exile.  Israel's  disloyalty  had 

1  Genesis  39  ».  *  Genesis  50  20. 

251 


252  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

led  to  the  consequences  repeatedly  urged  in  Deuteronomy.  The 
requirements  of  the  law  could  not  be  carried  out  in  the  exile  as  they 
were  in  Josiah's  reign,  hence  the  vital  spirit  of  the  nation's  creative 
thought  turned  to  the  past  where  it  was  possible  to  study  the  out- 
working of  the  Deuteronomic  principles. 

The  two  great  principles  that  underlay  Josiah's  reform  were 
aspects  of  the  doctrine  of  absolute  loyalty  to  Jehovah  alone.  One 
of  these  principles  was  that  Israel's  prosperity  and  continuance  in 
Canaan  depended  upon  such  loyalty.  The  other  was  that  such 
loyalty  demanded  the  destruction  of  the  high  places  with  all  their 
accompaniments  and  the  centralization  of  public  worship  in  the 
Jerusalem  temple.  The  hero  stories  of  the  age  of  struggle  with 
Canaanite  and  Philistine  afforded  ample  material  for  emphasiz- 
ing the  first.  The  stories  of  this  age,  as  preserved  in  the  north 
and  south,  had  already  been  woven  into  one  narrative.  Whether 
they  formed  a  separate  roll  or  had  been  treated  up  to  this  time 
as  merely  a  continuation  of  the  conquest  narrative,  they  were 
now  taken  as  a  distinct  literary  unit  and  were  given  an  elaborate 
editing.  The  stories  themselves  were  full  of  loyalty  to  Jehovah 
and  of  faith  because  of  his  deliverances  from  the  many  enemies  in 
Canaan  and  round  about.  What  better  examples  of  the  truth  of 
Deuteronomy's  doctrine  could  be  found  than  the  old  narratives  of 
this  age  of  vicissitudes  ?  It  needed  only  to  point  the  moral,  and 
all  must  see.  So  the  old  pictures  of  frequent  distress  from  enemies 
and  deliverance  by  national  heroes  were  framed  all  to  match, 
and  a  general  frame  constructed  for  the  whole,  giving  a  unitary 
impression  to  all  the  collection. 

And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of 
Jehovah :  and  Jehovah  strengthened  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab  against  Israel, 
because  they  had  done  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah.  And 
he  gathered  unto  him  the  children  of  Amman  and  Amalek;  and  he  went  and 
smote  Israel,  and  they  possessed  the  city  of  palm-trees.  And  the  children  of 
Israel  served  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab  eighteen  years. 

But  when  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  Jehovah,  Jehovah  raised  them  up 
a  saviour,  Ehud  the  son  of  Gera,  the  Benjamite,  a  man  left-handed.  And 
the  children  of  Israel  sent  tribute  by  him  unto  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab. 
And  Ehud  made  him  a  sword  which  had  two  edges,  a  cubit  in  length; 
and  he  girded  it  under  his  raiment  upon  his  right  thigh.  And  he  offered 
the  tribute  unto  Eglon  king  of  Moab :  now  Eglon  was  a  very  fat  man.  And 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY      253 

when  he  had  made  an  end  of  offering  the  tribute,  he  sent  away  the  people 
that  bare  the  tribute.  But  he  himself  turned  back  from  the  quarries 
that  were  by  Gilgal,  and  said,  I  have  a  secret  errand  unto  thee,  0  king. 
And  he  said,  Keep  silence.  And  all  that  stood  by  him  went  out  from 
him.  And  Ehud  came  unto  him ;  and  he  was  sitting  by  himself  alone  in 
the  cool  upper  room.  And  Ehud  said,  I  have  a  message  from  God  unto 
thee.  And  he  arose  out  of  his  seat.  And  Ehud  put  forth  his  left  hand, 
and  took  the  sword  from  his  right  thigh,  and  thrust  it  into  his  body: 
and  the  haft  also  went  in  after  the  blade ;  and  the  fat  closed  upon  the 
blade,  for  he  drew  not  the  sword  out  of  his  body ;  and  it  came  out  behind. 
Then  Ehud  went  forth  into  the  porch,  and  shut  the  doors  of  the  upper 
room  upon  him,  and  locked  them. 

Now  when  he  was  gone  out,  his  servants  came;  and  they  saw,  and, 
behold,  the  doors  of  the  upper  room  were  locked ;  and  they  said,  Surely 
he  is  covering  his  feet  in  the  upper  chamber.  And  they  tarried  till  they 
were  ashamed ;  and,  behold,  he  opened  not  the  doors  of  the  upper  room : 
therefore  they  took  the  key,  and  opened  them;  and,  behold,  their  lord 
was  fallen  down  dead  on  the  earth. 

And  Ehud  escaped  while  they  tarried,  and  passed  beyond  the  quarries, 
and  escaped  unto  Seirah.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  was  come,  that 
he  blew  a  trumpet  in  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim;  and  the  children  of 
Israel  went  down  with  him  from  the  hill-country,  and  he  before  them. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  Follow  after  me;  for  Jehovah  hath  delivered 
your  enemies  the  Moabites  into  your  hand.  And  they  went  down  after 
him,  and  took  the  fords  of  the  Jordan  against  the  Moabites,  and  suffered 
not  a  man  to  pass  over.  And  they  smote  of  Moab  at  that  time  about  ten 
thousand  men,  every  lusty  man,  and  every  man  of  valor;  and  there 
escaped  not  a  man.  So  Moab  was  subdued  that  day  under  the  hand  of 
Israel.  And  the  land  had  rest  fourscore  years. 

And  after  him  was  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath,  who  smote  of  the  Phil- 
istines six  hundred  men  with  an  ox-goad:  and  he  also  saved  Israel.1 

And  the  children  of  Israel  again  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight 
of  Jehovah,  when  Ehud  was  dead.  And  Jehovah  sold  them  into  the  hand  of 
Jabin  king  of  Canaan,  that  reigned  in  Razor;  the  captain  of  whose  host 
was  Sisera,  who  dwelt  in  Harosheth  of  the  Gentiks.  And  the  children  of 
Israel  cried  unto  Jehovah:  for  he  had  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron;  and 
twenty  years  he  mightily  oppressed  the  children  of  Israel. 


And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years.2 

1  Judges  3  12-J1.  2  4  Mt  5  "b. 


254  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

These  examples  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  kind  of  editorial  treat- 
ment that  is  given  also  to  the  stories  of  Gideon-Jerubbaal, 
Jephthah,  and  Samson.  Fortunately  the  editors  did  little  to 
these  stories  from  Israel's  golden  age  of  narrative  except  to  give 
them  their  frame  —  a  frame  of  wood,  we  are  tempted  to  call  it. 

The  story  of  Othniel  is  no  story  at  all,  but  is  wholly  made  up 
of  the  characteristic  phrases  of  the  editors.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  six  so-called  minor  judges,  concerning  whom  no  details  are 
given.1  Whether  these  were  added  by  a  later  hand  to  bring  the 
number  to  twelve  or  were  in  the  sources,  we  cannot  tell. 

The  general  introduction  prefixed  to  the  collection  of  stories  is 
found  in  chapters  2  6-3  6.  The  heart  of  this  is  2  u~19. 

And  the  children  of  Israel  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  Je- 
hovah, and  served  the  Baalim;  and  they  forsook  Jehovah,  the  God  of 
their  fathers,  who  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  followed 
other  gods,  of  the  gods  of  the  peoples  that  were  round  about  them,  and 
bowed  themselves  down  unto  them :  and  they  provoked  Jehovah  to  anger. 
And  they  forsook  Jehovah,  and  served  Baal  and  the  Ashtaroth.  And 
the  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and  he  delivered  them 
into  the  hands  of  spoilers  that  despoiled  them ;  and  he  sold  them  into  the 
hands  of  their  enemies  round  about,  so  that  they  could  not  any  longer 
stand  before  their  enemies.  Whithersoever  they  went  out,  the  hand  of 
Jehovah  was  against  them  for  evil,  as  Jehovah  had  spoken,  and  as  Jeho- 
vah had  sworn  unto  them :  and  they  were  sore  distressed. 

And  Jehovah  raised  up  judges,  who  saved  them  out  of  the  hand  of 
those  that  despoiled  them.  And  yet  they  hearkened  not  unto  their 
judges ;  for  they  played  the  harlot  after  other  gods,  and  bowed  themselves 
down  unto  them :  they  turned  aside  quickly  out  of  the  way  wherein  their 
fathers  walked,  obeying  the  commandments  of  Jehovah ;  but  they  did  not 
so.  And  when  Jehovah  raised  them  up  judges,  then  Jehovah  was  with 
the  judge,  and  saved  them  out  of  the  hand  of  their  enemies  all  the  days 
of  the  judge:  for  it  repented  Jehovah  because  of  their  groaning  by  reason 
of  them  that  oppressed  them  and  vexed  them.  But  it  came  to  pass, 
when  the  judge  was  dead,  that  they  turned  back,  and  dealt  more  corruptly 
than  their  fathers,  in  following  other  gods  to  serve  them,  and  to  bow 
down  unto  them;  they  ceased  not  from  their  doings,  nor  from  their 
stubborn  way. 

To  the  Deuteronomic  book  of  Judges  that  was  compiled  during 
the  exile,  later  hands  added  from  old  sources  the  brief  summary 

1  Shamgar,  Tola,  Jair,  Ibzan,  Elon,  Abdon. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY      255 

of  the  conquest,  1  ^-2  5,  and  the  two  appended  narratives,  chapters 
17-21.  These  fall  without  the  general  plan  of  the  editors  of  the 
book.  They  furnish,  however,  very  early  narratives  of  great 
interest  and  value. 

The  composite  history  from  Adam  to  the  conquest  of  the  east- 
Jordan  territory,  the  period  of  history  contained  in  the  present 
books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  and  Numbers,  was  given  only  very 
slight  touches  by  the  exilic  editors  of  the  Deuteronomic  school. 

The  book  of  Deuteronomy  itself  received  additions  of  historical 
material  which  fitted  it  into  the  history  at  the  close  of  the  east- 
Jordan  conquest.  The  most  notable  are  the  historical  retrospect, 
in  chapters  1  M: 40,  and  the  account  of  the  death  of  Moses  and 
the  estimate  of  him  as  a  prophet,  in  chapter  34.  In  this  material, 
as  in  the  remainder  of  the  book,  dependence  upon  the  great 
northern  and  southern  Israelite  history  for  knowledge  of  the  past 
is  evident. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  story  of  the  conquest  of  the  land  in 
the  first  chapter  of  Joshua,  the  work  of  the  exilic  editors  becomes 
everywhere  noticeable.  The  chapter  "is  constructed  almost 
entirely  of  phrases  borrowed  from  Deuteronomy"1  and  indeed 
throughout  the  book  the  hand  of  the  editor  is  manifest  to  one 
familiar  with  the  distinctive  phraseology  and  thought  of  Deuter- 
onomy. This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  first  twelve  chapters. 
The  book  of  Joshua  in  its  present  form  was  not,  however,  the 
work  of  the  Deuteronomic  editors.  Like  Genesis,  Exodus,  and 
Numbers,  its  completion  belongs  to  the  third  great  era  of  historical 
composition. 

Why  the  Deuteronomic  editors  did  not  treat  the  book  of  Samuel 
as  they  did  the  stories  of  the  Judges,  we  can  only  conjecture. 
Possibly  it  was  because  the  subject-matter  did  not  lend  itself  so 
well  to  the  enforcement  of  one  specific,  Deuteronomic  lesson; 
possibly  it  was  because  it  already  expressed  very  well  their  general 
interpretation  of  history.  In  this  portion  of  the  national  history, 
they  merely  made  additions  or  modifications  here  and  there  to 
emphasize  a  little  more  clearly  their  thought  of  its  significance. 
The  denunciation  of  Eli,  in  1  Samuel  2,  is  a  passage  that  exhibits 
then"  characteristic  touch. 

1  Driver,  Intro.  Lit.  Old  Test.,  p.  105,  Edition  of  1910. 


256  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

And  there  came  a  man  of  God  unto  Eli,  and  said  unto  him,  Thus  saith 
Jehovah,  Did  I  reveal  myself  unto  the  house  of  thy  father,  when  they 
were  in  Egypt  in  bondage  to  Pharaoh's  house?  and  did  I  choose  him 
out  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  be  my  priest,  to  go  up  unto  mine  altar,  to 
burn  incense,  to  wear  an  ephod  before  me  ?  and  did  I  give  unto  the  house 
o£  thy  father  all  the  offerings  of  the  children  of  Israel  made  by  fire  ? 
Wherefore  kick  ye  at  my  sacrifice  and  at  mine  offering,  which  I  have  com- 
manded in  my  habitation,  and  honorest  thy  sons  above  me,  to  make  your- 
selves fat  with  the  chief est  of  all  the  offerings  of  Israel  my  people  ?  There- 
fore Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  salth,  I  said  indeed  that  thy  house,  and 
the  house  of  thy  father,  should  walk  before  me  for  ever :  but  now  Jehovah 
saith,  Be  it  far  from  me ;  for  them  that  honor  me  I  will  honor,  and  they 
that  despise  me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed.  Behold,  the  days  come,  that 
I  will  cut  off  thine  arm,  and  the  arm  of  thy  father's  house,  that  there 
shall  not  be  an  old  man  in  thy  house.1 

The  editors  terminated  the  main  narrative  of  David's  reign  with 
the  list  of  his  officers  given  in  2  Samuel  20,  and  appended  to  this 
some  at  least  of  the  miscellaneous  material  constituting  chapters 
21-24.  This  appended  matter  itself  gives  interesting  evidence  of 
gradual  accumulation,  since  the  stories  of  the  famine  and  the  pesti- 
lence in  chapters  21  and  24,  that  evidently  were  taken  from  some 
common,  early  source,  are  cut  apart  by  the  insertion  of  two  poems 
and  a  list  of  David's  heroes. 

The  history  of  the  kingdom  from  Solomon  to  the  exile  furnished 
opportunity  for  more  abundant  and  more  varied  illustration  of 
the  Deuteronomic  principles  than  even  the  stories  of  the  Judges. 
The  dependence  of  national  prosperity  upon  absolute  loyalty  to 
Jehovah  was  demonstrated  more  impressively  in  the  division  of 
the  kingdom  and  the  final  downfall  of  its  two  parts  than  in  the 
vacillations  and  vicissitudes  of  the  early  struggle  for  the  land. 
To  this  the  later  era  added  opportunity  to  emphasize  the  principle 
of  loyalty  manifested  in  the  centralization  of  worship. 

The  exilic  editors  did  not  have  at  hand  a  composite  history  of 
the  divided  kingdom  as  of  the  earlier  ages ;  they  must  themselves 
compile  this  great  and  complex  work.  In  comparison  with  this 
task  their  undertakings  hitherto  considered  were  simple  indeed. 
Perhaps  the  compilation  and  interpretation  of  the  history  which 

1  2  27-Sl. 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY      257 

resulted  in  the  book  of  Kings  was  the  work  of  many  laborers, 
during  a  half-century  or  more.  There  are  traces  of  two  stages  hi 
the  editing,  one  antedating  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  other 
carrying  us  beyond  the  middle  of  the  exile.  Only  hi  minute 
details  can  these  stages  be  distinguished,  and  we  therefore  take  up 
Kings  simply  as  a  literary  product  of  the  Deuteronomic  age,  which 
begins  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  The  work  as  a  whole  must 
have  been  completed  soon  after  561,  the  date  of  the  last  event 
recorded ;  only  the  slightest  traces  of  any  later  editing  have  been 
noted.  From  the  exile  onward  the  Jews  had  Deuteronomy, 
Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings  hi  essentially  their  present  form. 

The  history  of  the  composite  authorship  and  gradual  growth 
of  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua,  Judges,  and  Samuel  has  been  deciphered 
only  by  the  united  effort  of  many  trained  eyes ;  but  in  Kings  the 
evidence  is  open  to  all.  At  the  close  of  Solomon's  reign,  we  read : 
Now  the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Solomon,  and  all  that  he  did,  and  his 
wisdom,  are  they  not  written  in  the  book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon  ? 
We  have  found  bits  of  poetry  ascribed  to  earlier  books  of  poems, 
but  we  have  not  met  direct  references  to  prose  histories  such  as 
the  book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon  must  have  been.  At  the  death  of 
Solomon's  son,  we  read :  Now  the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Rehoboam, 
and  all  that  he  did,  are  they  not  written  in  the  book  of  the  chronicles 
of  the  kings  of  Judah  ?  To  this  same  book  of  chronicles *  reference 
is  made  at  the  close  of  nearly  every  Judean  reign  until  the  death 
of  Jehoiakim  in  597  B.C. 

It  is  hi  the  time  of  David  that  we  first  hear  of  an  official  scribe 
as  a  member  of  the  court.  From  this  time  forward  we  need  not 
doubt  that  more  or  less  complete  official  annals  were  kept  hi 
Israel,  as  they  were  among  the  kindred  Babylonians  and  Assyrians. 
Whether  the  books  of  the  acts  of  days  of  Solomon  and  of  the  kings 
of  Judah  were  these  official  annals  or  not,  we  do  not  know  with 
certainty.  The  probability  seems  to  be  that  they  were  not,  since 
these  books  are  cited  for  some  things  that  might  not  have  been 
included  in  state  records ;  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  see,  too,  how 
the  compilers  of  Kings  would  have  had  access  to  the  government 
documents.  All  we  can  say  is  that  the  editors  had  some  sort  of 
a  history  of  Solomon's  reign  and  of  the  Judean  kings  who  followed 

1  Literally,  "acts  of  days"  =  daily  record  of  events. 

s 


258  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

him,  which  has  since  been  lost,  and  which  contained  much  material 
not  in  our  Kings  —  Now  the  rest  of  the  acts,  are  they  not  written  ? 

For  the  kings  of  Northern  Israel  similar  reference  is  constantly 
made  to  the  book  of  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  We  do 
not  know  just  what  the  relation  of  this  book  was  to  that  from  which 
we  found  a  few  extensive  extracts  in  the  latter  part  of  1  Kings  and 
opening  of  2  Kings.1  Those  were  such  early,  vivid  stories  as 
Ahab's  defeat  of  the  drunken  Ben-hadad  and  Jehu's  rebellion. 
This  material  may  have  been  included  along  with  that  from  other 
sources  in  the  "acts  of  days."  The  stories  of  Elijah  and  Elisha 
must  have  existed,  in  part  at  least,  in  separate  books  from  which 
the  editors  of  our  Kings  selected  copious  extracts.  Stories  in 
which  other  prophets  are  the  central  figures  were  also  inwoven  with 
the  principal  sources. 

The  narrative  of  the  reign  of  Solomon  in  1  Kings  1-11  is  an 
interesting  piece  of  composition.  The  first  two  chapters  are  taken 
from  the  early  history  of  David's  court  and  family  life  which  makes 
up  the  greater  part  of  2  Samuel.  The  remaining  chapters  are  not 
placed  chronologically,  but  are  grouped  about  the  central  theme 
of  Solomon's  building  operations,  the  whole  being  arranged 
topically. 

The  book  of  the  acts  of  Solomon  was  compiled,  perhaps,  not 
very  far  from  the  time  of  the  great  Judean  history  of  antiquity. 
The  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Israel  may  have  been  completed 
soon  after  722.  The  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Judah  cannot  have 
been  ended  before  597,  to  which  point  it  carried  the  history. 

The  final  chapter  concerning  Solomon's  reign  is  old  in  its  kernel, 
but  large  additions  were  made  by  the  editors  which  give  the  color 
and  tone  to  the  whole.  The  religious  interpretation  of  history 
characteristic  of  the  Deuteronomic  age  is  prominent.  Solomon 
is  faithless  to  Jehovah,  worships  other  deities,  adversaries  are 
raised  up  to  punish  him.2  The  downfall  of  Northern  Israel  gives 
the  editors  occasion  for  a  protracted  pointing  of  the  moral. 

1  Chapter  VI. 

2  As  the  section  stands,  this  interpretation  is  so  superimposed  on  the 
original  narrative  that  one  who  was  an  adversary  "all  Solomon's  days" 
(11 26)  appears  as  raised  up  by  God  to  punish  the  King  for  the  sin  of  his 
old  age  (11 <). 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY      259 

And  it  was  so,  because  the  children  of  Israel  had  sinned  against  Je- 
hovah their  God,  who  brought  them  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  from  under 
the  hand  of  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and  had  feared  other  gods,  and 
walked  in  the  statutes  of  the  nations,  whom  Jehovah  cast  out  from  before 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  which  they  made.  And 
the  children  of  Israel  did  secretly  things  that  were  not  right  against 
Jehovah  their  God:  and  they  built  them  high  places  in  all  their  cities, 
from  the  tower  of  the  watchmen  to  the  fortified  city ;  and  they  set  them 
up  pillars  and  Asherim  upon  every  high  hill,  and  under  every  green  tree ; 
and  there  they  burnt  incense  in  all  the  high  places,  as  did  the  nations 
whom  Jehovah  carried  away  before  them ;  and  they  wrought  wicked  things 
to  provoke  Jehovah  to  anger;  and  they  served  idols,  whereof  Jehovah 
had  said  unto  them,  Ye  shall  not  do  this  thing.  Yet  Jehovah  testified 
unto  Israel,  and  unto  Judah,  by  every  prophet,  and  every  seer,  saying, 
Turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways,  and  keep  my  commandments  and  my 
statutes,  according  to  all  the  law  which  I  commanded  your  fathers,  and 
which  I  sent  to  you  by  my  servants  the  prophets.  Notwithstanding, 
they  would  not  hear,  but  hardened  their  neck,  like  to  the  neck  of  their 
fathers,  who  believed  not  in  Jehovah  their  God.  And  they  rejected  his 
statutes,  and  his  covenant  that  he  made  with  their  fathers,  and  his  testi- 
monies which  he  testified  unto  them;  and  they  followed  vanity,  and 
became  vain,  and  went  after  the  nations  that  were  round  about  them, 
concerning  whom  Jehovah  had  charged  them  that  they  should  not  do  like 
them.  And  they  forsook  all  the  commandments  of  Jehovah  their  God, 
and  made  them  molten  images,  even  two  calves,  and  made  an  Asherah, 
and  worshipped  all  the  host  of  heaven,  and  served  Baal.  And  they 
caused  their  sons  and  then-  daughters  to  pass  through  the  fire,  and  used 
divination  and  enchantments,  and  sold  themselves  to  do  that  which 
was  evil  in  the  sight  of  Jehovah,  to  provoke  him  to  anger.  Therefore 
Jehovah  was  very  angry  with  Israel,  and  removed  them  out  of  his  sight : 
there  was  none  left  but  the  tribe  of  Judah  only.1 

It  is  not  only  where  such  striking  events  call  for  interpretation 
that  the  compiler's  hand  is  noticeable ;  for  the  entire  period  of  the 
divided  kingdom  the  editors  have  inwoven  the  history  after  a  very 
careful  system.  The  account  of  each  reign  opens  and  closes  with 
regular  formulas  which  give  the  chronological  relation  of  the 
reign  to  the  corresponding  reign  in  the  other  kingdom  and  pass 
judgment  on  each  king.  In  the  case  of  Northern  Israel,  this 
judgment  is  without  exception  unfavorable.  From  the  stand- 

1 2  Kings  17  7~18. 


260  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

point  of  the  Deuteronomic  law  of  the  central  sanctuary,  the  great 
sin  of  Jeroboam  was  the  establishment  of  places  of  worship  outside 
of  Jerusalem.  In  this  respect  each  king  of  Israel  followed  the  sin 
of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat. .  To  a  few  kings  of  Judah  qualified 
approbation  is  given,  limited  by  the  fact  that  the  high  places  were 
not  taken  away.  In  only  two  cases  is  this  limitation  omitted, 
those  of  Hezekiah  and  Josiah.  The  estimate  of  all  the  kings  is 
made  on  purely  religious  grounds  and  is  determined  by  the  law  of 
the  central  sanctuary.  Thus  the  Deuteronomic  editors  put  their 
stamp  upon  the  history  of  the  kingdom  from  Solomon's  reign 
forward,  as  completely  as  they  did  upon  the  age  of  the  Judges. 
They  left  the  book  of  Kings  as  the  chiefest  monument  of  their 
zeal.  Prophetic  principles  formulated  into  law,  and  burned  into 
the  souls  of  earnest  thinkers  by  the  devastation  of  city  and  temple, 
gave  new  meaning  to  the  national  history  and  led  to  the  second 
great  stage  of  historical  writing  in  Israel. 

In  our  own  day  the  study  of  sociology  and  economics  has  given 
historians  a  new  point  of  view  from  which  they  are  reexamining 
the  story  of  the  past  and  emphasizing  the  hitherto  neglected  factors. 
So  the  prophets  of  the  eighth  century  B.C.  and  their  successors  in 
the  seventh  century  gave  a  new  point  of  view  for  the  interpreta- 
tion of  Israel's  history.  In  each  age  the  new  light  tends  to  give, 
for  a  time,  a  one-sided  view,  capable  of  recognizing  only  one  ex- 
planation of  all  things.  The  Deuteronomic  editors  had  a  new 
insight  into  the  meaning  of  history,  but  their  interpretation  ob- 
scured some  of  the  truth  of  the  old,  natural  narratives  which  had 
had  no  hard-and-fast  interpretation  to  give. 

The  language  and  style  of  Deuteronomy,  as  well  as  the  thought, 
colored  all  that  the  historians  of  this  age  touched.  Very  much 
of  the  general  impression  made  by  the  prose  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  due  to  this  epoch.  While  the  story-telling  charm  of  the  earlier 
age  has  been  lost,  earnestness  of  thought  and  deep  conviction  give 
a  solemn  rhythm  to  all  that  is  written.  Even  some  repetitiousness 
is  without  wearisomeness  where  the  reach  of  the  thought  is  such 
that  frequent  reiteration  is  necessary.  As  in  earlier  ages,  so  in 
this,  the  Old  Testament  style  is  found  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
thought  and  feeling.  The  era  of  "national  inexperience"  that 
found  its  expression  in  the  swift-told  tale  of  heroic  adventure  is 


PROPHETIC  PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  HISTORY      261 

gone  forever.  The  naive  stories  of  that  earlier  age  win  the  child 
and  delight  all  whose  life  still  courses  lustily.  In  the  second  great 
era  of  Israel's  historical  writing,  the  stern  strength  of  men  who 
know  defeat,  but  not  despair,  who  know  how  to  fail  without  self- 
excuse,  who  look  back  with  tense  gaze,  determined  to  understand 
and  profit  by  mistakes,  grips  and  holds  the  reader  of  matured 
conscience. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION 

(About  550  to  450  B.C.) 

IN  Babylonia,  where  the  historians  of  Israel  were  interpreting 
the  story  of  their  nation  in  terms  of  the  philosophy  of  Deuteron- 
omy, political  confusion  suddenly  arose.  Following  the  death  of 
Nebuchadrezzar  in  561,  three  kings  ruled  in  rapid  succession  and 
a  fourth  had  already  seized  the  throne,  within  less  than  seven  years 
after  Nebuchadrezzar's  death.  For  the  time,  Babylon  maintained 
her  great  empire,  so  that  the  new  king  was  able  to  dictate  who 
should  reign  in  distant  Tyre ;  but  dangers  were  threatening.  The 
alliance  which  Nebuchadrezzar  had  consistently  maintained  with 
the  Medes  was  now  broken,  and  this  people  was  crowding  down 
upon  Babylon  in  Mesopotamia,  much  as  the  Assyrians  had  done 
nine  hundred  years  before.  A  rebellion  against  the  Medes  in  the 
province  of  Anshan,  in  northern  Elam,  resulted  in  the  downfall 
of  the  Median  king  Astyages  and  gave  the  rebellious  Persian  prince, 
Cyrus  of  Anshan,  the  rule  of  the  Medo-Persian  empire  of  which 
he  became  the  founder.  The  Babylonian  king,  Nabonidus, 
welcomed  the  conquest  of  Media  as  a  divine  intervention;  but 
soon  the  upstart  Cyrus  was  threatening  Babylon,  as  Astyages  had 
done.  An  alliance  between  Lydia,  Sparta  the  head  of  the  Greek 
states,  and  Babylon  led  Cyrus  quickly  to  his  great  western  cam- 
paign, in  which  he  conquered  Lydia  before  the  allies  could  aid. 

Ezekiel's  voice  of  hope  had  been  stilled  for  a  quarter-century, 
but  the  spirit  of  prophecy  needed  only  some  sign  among  the 
nations  to  call  forth  anew  its  song  of  doom  and  cheer.  Now  some 
unnamed  prophet-poet  sang :  — 

Upon  a  treeless  mountain  lift  up  a  signal,  raise  a  cry  to  them, 
Wave  the  hand  that  they  may  enter  the  princely  gates. 
I  myself  have  given  command  to  my  consecrated  ones,  to  execute  my 
wrath, 

262 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       263 

I  have  also  summoned  my  heroes,  my  proudly  exultant  ones. 
Hark,  a  tumult  on  the  mountains,  as  of  a  mighty  multitude ! 
Hark,  an  uproar  of  kingdoms,  of  gathered  nations ! 
It  is  Jehovah  of  hosts  mustering  the  martial  hosts. 

They  are  coming  from  a  distant  land,  from  the  end  of  heaven, 
Jehovah  and  his  instruments  of  wrath,  to  destroy  the  whole  earth. 
Wail,  for  Jehovah's  day  is  at  hand;   as  destruction  from  the  Almighty 

Destroyer  it  comes. 

Therefore  all  hands  hang  down  helpless, 

Therefore  every  human  heart  doth  melt,  and  men  are  dismayed. 
Pains  and  throes  seize  them ;  like  a  woman  in  travail  they  writhe ; 
Astounded  they  gaze  at  each  other ;  their  faces  glow  like  flames. 

Behold  Jehovah  cometh,  pitiless,  with  fury  and  burning  anger, 

To  make  the  earth  a  desolation,  and  to  destroy  the  sinners  thereon. 

For  the  heavens  and  its  Orions  cease  to  shed  then*  beams, 

The  sun  is  darkened  at  his  rising,  and  the  moon  gives  no  brilliant  light. 

I  will  punish  the  earth  for  its  wickedness,  and  the  wicked  for  their  iniquity, 

I  will  still  the  arrogance  of  the  proud,  and  lay  low  the  presumption  of 

tyrsCnts. 
I  will  make  mortals  rarer  than  gold,  and  men  than  the  fine  gold  of  Ophir. 

Therefore  I  will  make  heaven  tremble,  and  the  earth  shall  shake  in  its 

place, 
Because  of  the  fury  of  Jehovah  of  hosts,  and  hi  the  fury  of  his  burning 

anger. 

And  then  like  a  hunted  gazelle,  or  a  sheep  with  none  to  fold  them, 
They  will  turn  each  to  his  own  people,  and  flee  each  to  his  own  land ; 
Whoever  is  found  will  be  thrust  through,  and  whoever  is  caught  will  fall 

by  the  sword, 

And  their  children  shall  be  dashed  to  pieces  before  their  eyes. 
Their  houses  shall  be  plundered  and  their  wives  shall  be  ravished. 

Behold,  I  stir  up  against  them  the  Medes, 

Who  consider  not  silver,  and  take  no  pleasure  in  gold, 

(They  lay  hold  on)  bow  (and  spear,  they  are  cruel), 

(They  break  in  pieces  all)  the  young  men,  (and  the  maidens)  shall  be 

dashed  in  pieces. 
On  children  they  will  look  with  no  pity,  they  have  no  compassion  on  the 

fruit  of  the  womb, 
And  Babylon,  the  most  beautiful  of  kingdoms,  the  proud  glory  of  the 

Chaldeans  shall  be, 
As  when  God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 


264  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

It  shall  be  uninhabited  forever,  and  tenantless  age  after  age ; 

No  nomad  shall  pitch  there  his  tent,  nor  shepherds  let  their  flocks  lie  down 

there, 

But  wild  cats  shall  lie  down  here,  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  jackals; 
Ostriches  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall  dance  there, 
Howling  beasts  shall  cry  to  each  other  in  its  castles,  and  wolves  hi  its 

revelling  halls ; 
Its  time  is  near  at  hand,  its  day  shall  not  be  extended.1 

It  was  probably  the  same  prophet  who  sang  the  mocking  dirge 
over  Babylon  that  recalls  so  vividly  Ezekiel's  lament  over  Egypt.2 

Ah !  stilled  is  the  tyrant, 

And  stilled  is  the  fury  ! 
Broke  hath  Jehovah  the  rod  of  the  wicked, 

Sceptre  of  despots : 
Stroke  of  (the)  peoples  with  passion, 

Stroke  unremitting, 
Treading  in  wrath  (the)  nations, 

Trampling  unceasing. 
Quiet,  at  rest,  is  the  whole  earth, 

They  break  into  singing ; 
Even  the  pines  are  jubilant  for  thee, 

Lebanon's  cedars ! 
"Since  thou  liest  low,  cometh  not  up 

Feller  against  us." 

Sheol  from  under  shuddereth  at  thee 

To  meet  thine  arrival, 
Stirring  up  for  thee  the  shades, 

All  great-goats  of  earth ! 
Lifteth  erect  from  their  thrones 

All  kings  of  peoples. 
All  of  them  answer  and  say  to  thee,  — 

"Thou,  too,  made  flaccid  like  us, 

To  us  hast  been  levelled ! 
Hurled  to  Sheol  is  the  pride  of  thee, 

Clang  of  the  harps  of  thee ; 
Under  thee  strewn  are  (the)  maggots, 

Thy  coverlet  worms." 

1  Isaiah     13  2~22.     Translation    from    Kent,    Sermons,    Epistles,    and 
Apocalypses  of  Israel's  Prophets,  pp.  316  ff .  *  Page  246. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION        265 

How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven 

Daystar,  son  of  the  dawn; 
(How)  art  thou  hewn  down  to  earth, 

Hurtler  at  nations. 
And  thou,  thou  didst  say  in  thine  heart, 

"The  heavens  will  I  scale, 
Far  up  to  the  stars  of  God 

Lift  high  my  throne, 
And  sit  on  the  mount  of  assembly, 

Far  back  of  the  north, 
I  will  climb  on  the  heights  of  (the)  cloud, 

I  will  match  the  Most  High !" 
Ah :  to  Sheol  thou  art  hurled, 

Far  back  of  the  pit ! 

Who  see  thee  at  thee  are  gazing ; 

Upon  thee  they  muse : 
Is  this  the  man  that  staggered  the  earth, 

Shaker  of  kingdoms  ? 
Setting  the  world  like  the  desert, 

Its  cities  he  tore  down ; 
Its  prisoners  he  loosed  not 

(Each  of  them)  homeward. 
All  kings  of  peoples,  yes  all, 

Are  lying  in  their  state ; 
But  thou !  thou  art  flung  from  thy  grave, 

Like  a  stick  that  is  loathsome. 

Beshrouded  with  slain,  the  pierced  of  the  sword, 

Like  a  corpse  that  is  trampled. 
They  that  go  down  to  the  stones  of  a  crypt, 

Shall  not  be  with  them  in  burial. 
For  thy  land  thou  hast  ruined, 

Thy  people  hast  slaughtered. 
Shall  not  be  mentioned  for  aye 

Seed  of  the  wicked ! 
Set  for  his  children  a  shambles, 

For  guilt  of  their  fathers ! 
They  shall  not  rise  nor  inherit  (the)  earth, 

Nor  fill  the  face  of  the  world  with  cities. 

But  I  will  arise  upon  them, 
Sayeth  Jehovah  of  hosts ; 


266  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

And  I  will  cut  off  from  Babel 

Record  and  remnant, 
And  scion  and  seed, 

Saith  Jehovah : 
Yea,  I  will  make  it  the  bittern's  heritage, 

Marshes  of  water ! 
And  I  will  sweep  it  with  sweeps  of  destruction, 

Sayeth  Jehovah  of  hosts.1 

The  impassioned  prophecy  against  Babylon  in  Jeremiah  50-51, 
in  which  the  Medes  are  the  instrument  of  doom  on  the  city,  was 
composed  by  some  other  poet  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  oracles 
in  Isaiah  13  and  14.  "The  burden  of  the  wilderness  of  the  sea" 
(Isaiah  21 1~10)  was  perhaps  also  occasioned  by  the  expected  attack 
of  the  Medo-Persian  power.  In  the  prophetic  poems  called 
"burdens,"  there  is  often  a  weird  effect;  as  "whirlwinds  in  the 
south  sweep  through,"  so  they  seem  to  come  "from  the  wilderness, 
from  a  terrible  land."  Suggestion  and  mystery  rather  than  definite 
statement,  characterize  them.  The  great  mass  of  the  exiles,  like 
the  mass  of  people  in  any  age,  saw  the  wealth,  power,  and  mag- 
nificence of  Babylon  and  were  awed  by  the  splendor  of  her  reli- 
gious ceremonies.  The  reigning  king  was  peculiarly  devoted  to 
the  ancient  gods  of  Babylon ;  much  of  his  energy  was  devoted  to 
restoring  their  old-time  shrines  and  forms  of  worship.  In  Babylon 
and  in  other  cities  of  the  realm  his  ambitions  in  this  direction 
were  carried  out  on  a  magnificent  scale.  To  the  gods  who 
had  given  glory  to  Babylonia  thousands  of  years  before  Israel 
had  covenanted  with  Jehovah  at  Sinai,  Nabonidus  trusted  for 
aid  against  the  threatening  dangers.  In  these  and  in  the  im- 
mense strength  of  his  fortifications,  no  doubt  his  confidence  seemed 
well  grounded  to  Jewish  exiles  without  the  vision  of  their 
prophet  poets. 

It  may  have  been  after  Babylon  had  fallen,  although  it  is 
commonly  believed  to  have  been  while  Cyrus  was  still  in  the 
north  and  west  that  the  wonderful  songs  of  faith  and  cheer  in 

1  Isaiah  14  4-23. .  Translation  from  G.  A.  Smith,  Isaiah,  Expositor's 
Bible,  I,  p.  413  fif.  The  metre  is  the  same  in  this  and  the  preceding 
selection ;  Dr.  Kent  prints  the  long  broken  lines  as  single  lines  and  Dr. 
Smith,  as  two  lines. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       267 

Isaiah  40-48  were  first  sung.1  The  great  theme  is  given  at  the 
outset :  — 

Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God. 

Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem ;  and  cry  unto  her, 

That  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned, 

That  she  hath  received  of  Jehovah's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins.8 

Then  a  voice  is  heard,  a  messenger  in  the  wilderness,  which  sepa- 
rates the  exiles  from  home :  A  great,  easy  highway  is  being  built 
to  make  the  return  possible  for  weary  feet.  The  voice  that 
commands  the  road  through  the  wilderness,  commands  again  with 
the  one  word  "Cry,"  and  one  answers,  "What  shall  I  cry?  " 
"Human  pride  and  power  quickly  pass,  but  God's  promise  shall 
be  accomplished."  On  the  timeless  wings  of  song,  we  pass  from 
the  separating  wilderness'  to  the  hills  of  Judah  and  hear  Jerusalem 
and  the  cities  of  Judea  bidden  to  welcome  back  the  God  whom 
Ezekiel  had  seen  departing  from  the  polluted  and  doomed  city. 
What  sort  of  a  god  is  their  god  ?  Listen :  — 

Who  hath  measured  the  waters  hi  the  hollow  of  his  hand, 

And  meted  out  heaven  with  the  span, 

And  comprehended  the  dust  of  the  earth  hi  a  measure, 

And  weighed  the  mountains  in  scales, 

And  the  hills  in  a  balance  ? 

Who  hath  directed  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah, 

Or  who  being  his  counsellor  hath  taught  him  ? 

With  whom  took  he  counsel,  and  who  instructed  him,' 

And  taught  him  hi  the  path  of  justice,  and  taught  him  knowledge, 

And  showed  to  him  the  way  of  understanding  ? 

Behold,  the  nations  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket, 

And  are  accounted  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance : 

Behold,  he  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing. 

And  Lebanon  is  not  sufficient  to  burn, 

Nor  the  beasts  thereof  sufficient  for  a  burnt  offering. 

All  the  nations  are  as  nothing  before  him, 

As  less  than  nothing,  and  vanity.3 

1  For  the  view  that  these  are  to  be  dated  after  538,  see  Kent,  Sermons, 
Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  of  Israel's  Prophets,  pp.  27-29,  336. 
*  Isaiah  40  M.  l  Isaiah  40  «-". 


268  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Contrast  the  other  gods :  — 

To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  me, 

That  I  should  be  equal  to  him  ?  saith  the  Holy  One. 

Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  see 

Who  hath  created  these, 

That  bringeth  out  their  host  by  number ; 

He  calleth  them  all  by  name.1 

This  is  lyric  poetry,  but  it  has  the  qualities  and  power  of  the  drama. 
It  is  like  the  prelude  of  an  opera ;  it  almost  sings  itself,  voice 
answering  voice.  The  chapters  following  give  a  succession  of 
lyrics,  all  so  unified  in  theme  and,  to  some  extent,  progressive  in 
thought,  that  the  whole  of  40  to  48  can  almost  be  called  one  dra- 
matic lyric. 

The  identification  of  the  personality  of  the  prophet  with  God 
is  here  so  complete  that  any  perfectly  clear  differentiation  of 
speakers  is  impossible.  Throughout  chapter  40,  however,  God  is 
spoken  of  in  the  third  person,  while  clearly  He  is  himself  speaking 
at  the  opening  of  the  next  chapter.  The  scene  is  like  that  at  the 
opening  of  Micah  6.  There  the  prophet  summoned  the  mountains 
and  hills  to  form  a  majestic  court  before  which  Jehovah  should 
plead  his  cause  with  his  people;  then  Jehovah  himself  spoke.2 
Here  it  is  Jehovah  who  bids  the  islands  sit  in  silence  and  the  people 
to  come  near  to  trial. 

Had  the  Greek  unerring  instinct  for  form  and  proportion  in 
building  or  statue?  The  poets  of  Israel  were  equally  unerring 
in  their  soul-union  with  nature.  Imagine  summoning  vast  prairies 
or  awesome  deserts  to  sit  as  court  for  God  and  his  people  in  judg- 
ment !  But  the  mountains  and  the  islands !  —  these,  spite  of 
their  greatness,  have  individuality  and  personality. 

Turning  back  from  form  to  thought,  we  notice  that,  while  the 
prelude  chapter  struck  the  different  chords  that  give  the  entire 
theme,  the  situation  is  not  before  us  till  Jehovah  begins  his  plea 
for  the  trust  of  his  people:  — 

Who  hath  raised  up  one  from  the  east, 
Whom  he  calleth  in  righteousness  to  his  foot  ? 
He  giveth  nations  before  him, 

*  Isaiah  40  M-26a.  *  Micah  6  ". 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION         269 

And  maketh  him  rule  over  kings ; 

He  giveth  them  as  the  dust  of  his  sword, 

As  the  driven  stubble  to  his  bow. 

He  pursueth  them  and  passes  on  safely, 

Even  by  a  way  that  he  hath  not  gone  with  his  feet. 

Who  hath  wrought  and  done  it, 

Calling  the  generations  from  the  beginning  ? 

I  Jehovah,  the  first, 

And  with  the  last,  I  am  he.1 

The  Babylonian  exiles  needed  no  commentary  to  enable  them  to 
recognize  the  one  from  the  east  before  whom  the  nations  had  been 
driven  stubble.  Already  Cyrus  had  pursued  the  king  of  Lydia  to 
his  capital,  the  very  end  of  the  earth  to  the  ancient  Oriental. 
Well  did  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  and  ^Igean  fear  when 
they  saw  it;  fifty  years  more  and  a  successor  of  Cyrus  will  not 
stop  at  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  As  it  is  in  Babylon,  so  the  poet 
sees  it  among  the  distant  peoples  united  against  Cyrus ;  they  has- 
tened to  create  more  images  of  the  gods,  to  gain  help  against  the 
invader  whom  no  human  power  could  check.  "Butthou,  Israel, 
art  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen" ;  in  all  this  panic  fear  of  the 
nations  there  is  only  hope  for  thee.  Next,  the  prophet  seems  to 
speak  a  few  lines  in  his  own  person,  explaining  the  purpose  of  God 

in  it  all :  — 

That  they  may  see  and  know, 
And  consider,  and  understand  together, 
That  the  hand  of  Jehovah  hath  done  this, 
And  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  hath  created  it.* 

The  people  cannot  believe,  so  the  poet  represents  Jehovah  as 
saying,  "Produce  your  cause,"  and  the  prophet  himself  goes  on, 
"Let  them  show  us  what  shall  happen."  Then  Jehovah  himself 
again :  — 

Behold,  ye  are  of  nothing,  and  your  work  is  of  nought. 

The  following  songs  reiterate,  elaborate,  and  make  specific. 
There  is  not  only  to  be  a  broad,  easy  highway  from  Babylon  to 
Judea,  but  God  shall  lead  the  blind  and  shall  make  darkness  light 
before  them.3  The  nothingness  of  other  gods  is  repeatedly 
pictured  by  contrast  with  the  might  and  majesty  of  Jehovah  and 
1 41  *-<.  *  Isaiah  41 20.  •  42  ». 


270  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

by  realistic  descriptions  of  the  making  of  idols  and  carrying  their 
images  about  in  religious  procession.1  The  downfall  of  Babylon 
which  was  not  specifically  mentioned  in  the  opening  chapters  is 
made  very  definite  and  vivid  as  the  poems  advance :  — 

Thus  saith  Jehovah, 

Your  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel : 

For  your  sake  I  have  sent  to  Babylon, 

And  I  will  bring  down  all  of  them  as  fugitives.8 

Down !  and  sit  in  the  dust,  0  virgin, 

Daughter  of  Babel ! 
Sit  on  the  ground,  with  no  throne, 

Daughter  of  Kashdim ! 
For  not  again  shall  they  call  thee 

Tender  and  Dainty. 

Take  to  thee  millstones,  and  grind  out  the  meal, 
Put  back  thy  veil,  strip  off  the  garment, 
Make  bare  the  leg,  wade  through  the  rivers ; 
Bare  be  thy  nakedness,  yea,  be  beholden  thy  shame  I 

Vengeance  I  take,  and  strike  treaty  with  none. 


And  thou  saidst,  For  ever  I  shall  be  mistress, 
Till  thou  hast  set  not  these  things  to  thy  heart, 
Nor  thought  of  their  issue. 

Therefore  now  hear  this,  Voluptuous, 

Sitting  self-confident: 

Thou,  who  saith  in  her  heart,  "I  am :  there  is  none  else. 
I  shall  not  sit  a  widow,  nor  know  want  of  children." 
Surely  shall  come  to  thee  both  of  these,  sudden,  the  same  day, 

Childlessness,  widowhood ! 

To  their  full  come  upon  thee,  spite  of  the  mass  of  thy  spells, 
Spite  of  the  wealth  of  thy  charms  —  to  the  full ! 

And  thou  wast  bold  in  thine  evil ;  thou  saidst, 

"None  doth  see  me." 

Thy  wisdom  and  knowledge  —  they  have  1(«?  thee  astray, 
Till  thou  hast  said  in  thine  heart,  "I  am :  there  is  none  else." 

'461.  243". 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION        271 

Yet  there  shall  come  on  thee  Evil, 

Thou  know'st  not  to  charm  it. 
And  there  shall  fall  on  thee  Havoc, 

Thou  canst  not  avert  it. 
And  there  shall  come  on  thee  suddenly, 

Unawares,  Ruin. 

Stand  forth,  I  pray,  with  thy  charms,  with  the  wealth  of  thy  spells — 
With  which  thou  hast  wearied  thyself  from  thy  youth  up — 

If  so  thou  be  able  to  profit, 

If  so  to  strike  terror ! 
Thou  art  sick  with  the  mass  of  thy  counsels : 

Let  them  stand  up  and  save  thee  — 
Mappers  of  heaven,  Planet-observers,  Tellers  at  new  moons  — 

From  what  must  befall  thee ! 

Behold,  they  are  grown  like  the  straw ! 

Fire  hath  consumed  them  ; 
Nay,  they  save  not  their  life 

From  the  hand  of  the  flame ! 
—  'Tis  no  fuel  for  warmth, 

Fire  to  sit  down  at !  — 
Thus  are  they  grown  to  thee,  they  who  did  weary  thee, 

Traders  of  thine  from  thy  youth  up ; 

Each  as  he  could  pass  have  they  fled ; 
None  is  thy  saviour ! 1 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  group  of  poems,  there  is  a  ringing  cry 
to  go  forth  from  Babylon,  for,  in  the  prophet's  vision,  the  people 
of  Jehovah  are  already  free  to  return.2 

In  these  poems  and  those  which  immediately  follow  in  the  book 
of  Isaiah,  the  culmination  of  the  prophetic  idea  of  God  is  reached. 
No  previous  writing  gives  such  clear  and  sweeping  declarations 
of  the  one  God  of  all  the  earth ;  creator  and  preserver.  Toward 
these  conceptions,  the  inspired  teachers  of  Israel  had  been  reach- 
ing in  the  midst  of  a  world  and  a  people  which  believed  that  each 
region  or  tribe  had  its  own  god,  who  must  be  especially  honored 

1 47 1-3.  7-15.  Translation  of  G.  A.  Smith,  Isaiah,  Expositor's  Bible, 
II,  p.  195  ff. 

1  If  this  section  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  dates  from  the  time  after  the  fall 
of  Babylon  in  538,  the  freedom  to  return  is  literal. 


272  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

in  that  region  or  whose  glory  was  inextricably  bound  up  with  the 
military  success  and  prosperity  of  that  people.  In  following  the 
writings  of  the  prophets  in  chronological  order,  the  gradual  devel- 
opment of  this  stupendous  conception  is  clearly  seen  —  one  God, 
a  personal  being,  creator  and  preserver.  Only  through  the  effects 
of  the  struggle  of  nations,  only  through  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  and  temple-city  was  it  possible  for  Israel  to  rise  to  a  con- 
ception of  a  God  who  was  not  limited  to  one  part  of  the  earth's 
surface  and  largely  to  one  people.  While  the  prophets  struggled  to 
guide  their  little  people  amid  the  overwhelming  waves  of  the 
great  tides  of  nations  in  commotion,  prophet  added  to  prophet 
some  new  vision  of  the  great  pilot ;  only  when  Israel  had  lived  for 
a  generation  in  the  midst  of  the  splendors  of  the  Babylonian  relig- 
ion was  it  possible  by  contrast  to  set  forth  the  uniqueness  of  the 
one  God. 

Chapters  49  to  55  form  a  new  group  of  oracles,  in  various  ways 
distinct  from  40  to  48.  There  are  no  further  allusions  to  Cyrus, 
and  the  contrasting  of  Jehovah  with  the  idol-gods  has  also  dis- 
appeared. In  general,  the  poems  of  this  group  are  less  original 
and  spontaneous  than  the  preceding  ones.  They  probably  come 
from  a  time  after  a  beginning  had  been  made  in  the  restoration  of 
Jerusalem.  Two  of  the  best  songs  of  the  group  are  those  begin- 
ning: "Awake,  awake,  put  on  strength,  O  arm  of  Jehovah," 
and  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters."1 

A  unifying  link  in  the  two  groups  is  the  succession  of  poems  con- 
cerning Jehovah's  servant.  If  these  were  an  original  part  of  the 
collection,  then  40  to  55  must  almost  certainly  have  formed  one 
collection.  Many  critics,  however,  find  in  the  servant  passages 
the  parts  of  one  poem  worked  into  the  text  by  a  later  hand,  after 
two  distinct  collections  of  prophecies  (40-48,  49-55)  had  been 
united;  in  them  we  find  one  theme,  with  progress  and  culmina- 
tion of  thought.  In  Isaiah  40  to  48  the  prophetic  conception  of 
God  reaches  its  climax,  and,  in  this  poem,  the  prophetic  conception 
of  man  culminates;  so  that  40  to  55  taken  together  give  two 
summits  in  the  central  thoughts  of  the  Old  Testament  literature 
—  God  and  man. 

As  Israel's  thought  advances,  man  is  considered  in  his  twofold 
1  51  »-52 12,  55. 


SONGS  AND   ORACLES  OF  THE   RESTORATION       273 

relation  —  to  God  and  to  his  fellow-man  and,  in  the  ideal  servant, 
this  twofold  treatment  reaches  its  highest  point.  If  one  draws 
a  composite  portrait  from  the  successive  passages,1  it  will  be  found 
to  contain  at  least  the  following  traits :  To  the  eye  that  looks  for 
physical  beauty  and  external  pomp,  nothing  will  appear,  for  his 
visage  and  form  are  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  he  has  no 
comeliness  nor  beauty.  He  is  despised  and  esteemed  not.  In  his 
suffering,  he  is  thought  to  be  one  smitten  of  God  and  is  forced  to 
endure  punishment  and  insult.  Instead  of  regal  self-assertion  and 
loud  display,  there  will  be  quiet  gentleness  and  meekness ;  he  shall 
not  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  street ;  he  shall  be  before  his 
persecutors  dumb,  as  a  victim  led  to  the  slaughter;  he  shall 
not  even  break  the  weakest  staff  nor  put  out  the  dimmest  light. 
His  worth  will  be  wholly  of  a  moral  type.  He  shall  inaugurate 
justice ;  there  shall  be  in  him  no  violence  nor  deceit,  and  by  his 
knowledge  he  shall  justify  many.  His  powers  will  be  at  the 
service  of  others,  for  his  skill  of  speech  will  be  to  help  the  weary. 
He  will  endure  for  the  sake  of  others ;  in  their  behalf  he  will  be 
mighty.  He  will  not  stop  until  he  establishes  judgment  in  the 
world.  He  will  bring  light  to  the  Gentiles,  open  the  eyes  of  the 
blind,  and  bring  out  prisoners.  His  mouth  will  be  like  a  sharp 
sword.  He  will  be  ready  to  hearken  to  Jehovah,  absolute  faith 
in  whom  will  make  his  face  like  flint. 

Whoever  the  writer  had  hi  mind  in  this  strange,  composite 
picture,  whether  some  one  of  the  past  or  the  future,  or  only  a  per- 
sonification of  the  genius  of  the  nation,  we  have  here  insight  into 
deep  facts  of  human  life.  Hawthorne  found  in  our  common  sin 
the  bond  that  unites  soul  to  soul.  It  is  rather  a  pessimistic 
interpretation  of  life,  but  there  is  truth  hi  it.  Browning,  struggling 
ever  with  the  question  "why  ill  should  hap  to  man,"  found  in  our 
common  pain  that  which  develops  the  highest  human  qualities 
of  sympathy  toward  man  and  gratitude  toward  God.  The  poet 
of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ  saw  the  fact,  he  did  not  seek  to 
explain  it,  —  saw  the  universal  fact  that  he  who  comes  close  to  God 
and  seeks  to  do  his  will  in  service  to  man  will  be  misunderstood, 
deemed  smitten  of  God,  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  The 
history  of  civilization  —  the  martyrs  of  philosophy,  science, 
142i-»,  49 »-»,  504-",  521J-5311. 

T 


274  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

political  liberty,  as  well  as  of  religion,  declare  that  the  ancient  poet 
saw  the  deep  things  of  life  as  they  are.  The  great  servants  of 
God,  whether  their  service  has  been  in  the  cause  of  advancing 
knowledge  or  righteousness,  have  been  and  still  must  be  despised 
and  rejected  of  men,  men  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
In  the  lower  realms  of  life,  animal  and  human,  we  may  find  the  law 
of  tooth  and  claw;  in  the  higher  realms,  the  law  of  the  soul  an 
offering  for  sin  prevails.  This  law  unites  man  to  man  and  man 
to  God.  The  truth  seen  by  the  author  of  the  Marble  Faun  is  a 
very  small  part  of  the  truth  ;  the  truth  seen  by  the  prophet-poet 
of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  and  by  the  philosopher-poet  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  after  Christ  complement  each  other  and  carry  us 
far  as  human  eye  has  yet  reached  into  the  eternal  mystery  of  life 
as  it  is  at  its  centre  and  circumference.  The  scientist  may  talk 
of  the  struggle  for  life  and  the  struggle  for  the  life  of  others ;  the 
theologian  may  talk  of  the  vicarious  principle ;  they  are  scientific 
names  for  the  facts  that  the  poets  have  seen.1 

The  poets  of  the  Restoration-possessed  all  the  gifts  of  the  greatest 
of  their  race  for  expressing  their  thought  in  appropriate  imagery, 
in  concrete  pictures,  and  in  bold  personifications.  Yielding  our- 
selves to  their  changing  mood,  we  feel  the  transitory  character 
of  human  life  in  the  fading  flower  and  grass;  we  see  the  tender 
plant  springing  up,  even  the  marvel  of  a  root  out  of  dry  ground, 
the  rain  and  snow  coming  from  heaven,  making  earth  bud  and 
bring  forth  seed  for  the  sower  and  bread  for  the  eater.  We  watch 
the  fir  and  myrtle  grow  up  instead  of  the  thorn  and  brier,  or  we 
are  led  by  springs  of  water.  We  look  upon  Lebanon's  height  with 
her  beasts;  we  hear  the  waves  of  the  sea  roaring;  our  gaze  is 
directed  to  the  starry  heavens;  we  mount  with  wings  as  eagles; 

1  In  some  one  of  his  writings,  Henry  E.  Krehbiel  has  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  idea  of  German  poetry  is  that  "  salvation  comes  to 
humanity  through  the  self-sacrificing  love  of  woman."  The  poet  of 
ancient  Israel  saw  the  law  in  its  more  universal  terms.  Parallels  between 
the  poem  of  the  Suffering  Servant  and  Psalm  22,  beginning  "My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  are  often  noted.  Although  the 
Psalm  comes  from  the  Restoration  period  and  is  of  essentially  the  same 
age  as  the  Suffering  Servant,  it  lacks  the  insight  of  that  great  poem,  failing 
to  show  the  necessary  connection  between  its  night  of  suffering  and  the 
glorious  future.  See  Kirkpatriek,  The  Psalms,  p.  114. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       275 

our  thought  soars  to  the  height  of  the  heavens  above  the  earth. 
Jehovah  is  pictured  as  measuring  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand  and  weighing  the  mountains  in  scales,  stretching  out  the 
heavens  as  a  curtain  and  spreading  them  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in,  or 
as  making  a  way  in  the  sea.  He  is  again,  a  rock,  the  only  rock. 
Still  giving  ourselves  to  their  guidance,  we  watch  the  laborers  at 
work,  the  carpenter  and  smith,  the  shepherd  feeding  his  flock ; 
we  see  the  sheep  shearing  and  the  lamb  led  to  the  slaughter,  the 
potter  treading  the  clay  or  fashioning  it  as  he  wills,  the  refiner  of 
precious  metal  at  his  work.  We  note  the  instrument  of  threshing, 
the  hunter's  snare,  the  antelope  caught  in  the  net,  the  bruised 
reed  and  smoking  flax,  the  polished  shaft  of  the  archer  in  its 
quiver,  the  moth  that  destroys  a  garment  or  the  garment  that 
grows  old.  We  are  led  to  picture  a  man  struggling  through  a 
deep,  swift  stream.  Israel  is  now  a  divorced  woman,  now  the 
wife  of  Jehovah,  now  one  who  has  been  sold  into  slavery  for  no 
price.  Jehovah's  wrath  is  a  draught  in  a  cup.  Those  who  seek 
satisfaction  in  idolatrous  worship  are  feeders  upon  ashes.  The 
curious  might  almost  make  a  complete  study  of  the  arts  and  in- 
dustries and  all  the  circumstances  of  the  daily  life  of  the  age  from 
the  pictures  given  in  these  poetic  oracles.  One  does  not  feel, 
however,  any  such  conscious  display  of  knowledge  as  in  Eze- 
kiel;  we  are  again  with  true  poets  who  think  in  pictures  in- 
stinctively. 

Among  the  most  graphic  of  the  pictures  from  life  that  appear  on 
the  pages  of  these  prophets  are  the  sarcastic  descriptions  of  idol 
manufacture  and  worship :  — 

To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  God, 

And  what  likeness  place  beside  him  ? 

An  image !  a  craftsman  cast  it, 

And  a  smelter  overlays  it  with  gold. 

Each  one  helps  the  other  and  says  to  his  fellow,  Be  courageous ! 

So  the  craftsman  encourages  the  smelter, 

The  smoother  with  the  hammer  him  who  smites  the  anvil, 

Saying  of  the  plating,  It  is  good ; 

And  he  fastens  it  securely  with  nails. 

He  who  is  too  poor  to  do  this 

Chooses  a  tree  that  is  not  decayed, 


276  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Seeks  for  himself  a  skilled  craftsman, 
To  set  up  an  image  that  shall  not  totter. 1 

The  smith  prepares  it  on  the  coals. 

With  hammers  he  fashions  it, 

He  forges  it  with  his  strong  arm, 

He  becomes  hungry  also  and  has  no  strength, 

He  drinks  no  water  and  is  faint. 

The  carpenter  stretches  out  a  line, 

Traces  it  in  outline  with  a  stylus, 

Shapes  it  with  scraping  tools  and  a  compass, 

And  makes  it  like  a  human  figure, 

Like  the  beauty  of  a  man,  to  dwell  in  a  house ! 

One  cuts  down  cedar  trees  for  his  use, 

And  chooses  a  cypress  or  oak, 

He  lets  it  grow  up  among  the  trees  of  the  forest, 

Or  plants  a  pine,  and  the  rain  makes  it  grow. 

So  it  becomes  fuel  for  man, 

And  he  takes  some  therefrom  and  warms  himself, 

He  also  sets  it  ablaze  and  bakes  bread, 

Yea,  he  makes  a  god  and  worships  it ! 

Makes  an  image  and  bows  before  it ! 

Half  of  it  he  burns  in  the  fire, 

And  upon  its  coals  he  roasts  flesh ! 

He  eats  the  roast  and  is  satisfied ! 

He  warms  himself  and  says,  Aha ! 

I  am  warm  and  see  the  glow. 

The  rest  of  it  he  makes  into  a  god, 

He  bows  down  to  his  image  and  worships  it, 

And  prays  to  it  and  says : 

Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my  god  ! 

They  have  no  knowledge  nor  discernment, 
For  their  eyes  are  besmeared  past  seeing, 
And  their  minds  past  comprehending. 
And  he  takes  it  not  to  heart, 
Nor  is  there  any  knowledge  or  sense  to  say : 

1 40  18-20^  41  «_7      Translation  and  arrangement  from  Kent,  Sermons, 
Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  of  the  Prophets,  p.  338. 


SONGS  AND   ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       277 

Half  of  it  I  have  burned  in  the  fire, 

I  have  also  baked  bread  upon  the  coals, 

I  have  roasted  flesh  and  have  eaten ; 

And  the  rest  of  it  shall  make  an  abomination, 

To  a  block  of  wood  shall  I  bow  down  ? l 

The  poet's  own  personality  is  elusive  throughout.  He  is  often 
styled  "The  Great  Unknown" ;  we  do  not  even  know,  as  we  have 
seen,  whether  the  songs  are  all  from  one  poet  or  from  more. 

After  the  conquest  of  Asia  Minor,  Cyrus  turned  his  attention 
to  the  regions  eastward  of  his  empire,  and  it  was  not  until  538 
that  he  moved  directly  on  Babylon.  Internal  dissensions  had, 
by  this  time,  paved  the  way  for  easy  conquest.  There  was  some 
fighting  done  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  country,  but  once 
victorious  here,  Cyrus's  forces  were  able  to  enter  the  capital  with- 
out a  struggle.  In  accord  with  his  general  policy  of  recognizing 
the  religion  of  conquered  peoples  and  permitting  those  who  had 
been  deported  to  return  and  rebuild  their  devastated  homes, 
Cyrus  permitted  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem  and  the  return  of 
exiles.  In  the  course  of  the  next  eighteen  years  some  few  leading 
men  went  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem.  Sheshbazzar  of  the 
seed-royal  went  as  governor  and  probably  a  considerable  company 
with  him.  By  520,  Sheshbazzar  had  been  succeeded  as  local 
governor  by  Zerubbabel,  a  grandson  of  Jehoiachin;  Joshua  the 
chief  priest  had  also  gone  up  from  Babylon.  Doubtless  each  of 
these  brought  followers  with  him.  When  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  was  begun  in  520,  others  had  come  from  Babylon  bringing 
a  contribution  of  silver  and  gold ;  but  there  was  no  considerable 
return  of  exiles  from  Babylon  for  many  years.  From  Egypt  and 
other  regions  near  Judea,  doubtless  many  fugitives  had  come  back 
before  538.  The  reestablishment  of  some  sort  of  order  under 
Sheshbazzar  must  have  attracted  many  more  from  neighboring 
districts.  Soon  homes  began  to  rise  among  the  desolate  ruins  of 
Jerusalem,  so  that  in  520  the  people  were  living  in  ceiled  houses, 
though  the  temple  still  lay  in  hopeless  ruin,  as  it  had  been  left 
sixty-six  years  before. 

i  44  12-u.  Translation  from  Kent,  Sermons,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypses, 
pp.  350-351. 


278  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

At  this  juncture,  one  who  had  inherited  something  of  the  spirit 
of  the  earlier  prophets  appeared  to  rouse  Zerubbabel,  Joshua, 
and  the  people  to  the  great  task  of  rebuilding  the  temple.  The 
scanty  crops  that  had  been  given,  he  interpreted  as  due  to  neglect 
of  this  primal  duty.  Three  weeks  after  his  first  stimulating 
address,  work  was  begun ;  but  soon  the  magnitude  of  the  task 
proved  most  discouraging.  Again  the  prophet  spoke :  — 

Who  is  left  among  you  that  saw  this  house  in  its  former  glory  ?  and  how 
do  ye  see  it  now  ?  is  it  not  in  your  eyes  as  nothing  ?  Yet  now  be  strong, 
0  Zerubbabel,  saith  Jehovah ;  and  be  strong,  O  Joshua,  son  of  Jehozadak, 
the  high  priest ;  and  be  strong,  all  ye  people  of  the  land,  saith  Jehovah, 
and  work:  for  I  am  with  you,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts,  according  to  the  word 
that  I  covenanted  with  you  when  ye  came  out  of  Egypt,  and  my  Spirit 
abode  among  you :  fear  ye  not.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts :  Yet 
once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  the  dry  land ;  and  I  will  shake  all  nations ;  and  the  precious 
things  of  all  nations  shall  come ;  and  I  will  fill  this  house  with  glory,  saith 
Jehovah  of  hosts.  The  silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  Jehovah 
of  hosts.  The  latter  glory  of  this  house  shall  be  greater  than  the  former, 
saith  Jehovah  of  hosts ;  and  in  this  place  will  I  give  peace,  saith  Jehovah 
of  hosts.1 

Soon  this  brave  preacher,  Haggai,  was  supported  by  Zechariah, 
who  addressed  the  people  in  Jehovah's  name,  warning  them  by  the 
fate  of  their  fathers  and  the  certainty  of  Jehovah's  word.  Thus, 
through  the  warning  and  encouragement  of  these  two  prophets, 
the  work  of  building  the  temple  went  forward.  Haggai's  last 
message  was  given  just  three  months  after  the  building  was  begun ; 
Zechariah  continued  his  prophetic  work  at  least  two  years  longer. 

A  greater  contrast  than  that  exhibited  in  the  oracles  of  Haggai 
and  Zechariah  cannot  be  imagined.  Haggai  speaks  as  a  practical 
man  who  sees  the  immediate  thing  to  be  done  and  goes  about  it 
in  the  most  direct  way.  Of  vision  and  symbol,  he  is  innocent, 
and  of  deep  moral  and  spiritual  insight  almost  equally  devoid. 
He  believes  in  the  time-honored  doctrine  that  material  prosperity 
depends  on  faithfulness  to  Jehovah.  Such  faithfulness  can  be 
manifested  simply  by  rebuilding ;  do  this,  and  Jehovah  will  bless. 
The  passage  quoted  above  in  which  the  shaking  of  the  heavens 

1  Haggai  2 3-9. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       279 

and  the  earth  is  promised,  approaches  more  nearly  to  the  rhetorical 
power  and  poetic  form  of  the  earlier  prophets  than  any  other  from 
Haggai's  lips.  Zechariah,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  a  student 
of  Ezekiel's  prophecies  and  was  little  behind  his  master  in  the 
imagery  of  symbolic  vision.  Angelic  horsemen,  horns  cut  down,  a 
man  with  a  rod  measuring  Jerusalem,  the  high-priest  clothed  in 
filthy  garments  and  accused  by  the  Adversary,  a  golden  lamp  fed 
with  oil  from  two  olive  trees,  a  great  roll  of  a  book  flying  through 
the  air,  a  woman  placed  in  an  ephah  and  carried  to  Babylon, 
chariots  with  many  colored  horses,  all  these  appear  in  Zechariah's 
strange  visions.  All  convey  some  message  needed  by  the  com- 
munity in  its  weakness  and  discouragement.  In  part,  the  visions 
speak  of  world-conditions  favorable  for  the  great  effort,  and  of 
future  peace  and  glory  for  the  city ;  in  part,  they  tell  of  sin  expiated 
by  the  years  of  devastation,  sin  borne  away  to  Babylon.  Ezekiel's 
teaching,  too,  that  henceforth  the  curse  of  sin  shall  fall  upon  the 
shiner  and  not  on  the  community  as  a  whole  is  reimpressed. 

The  visions  are  followed  by  a  symbolic  act  of  crowning  the 
living  Davidic  representative.1  Like  Ezekiel,  Zechariah  could 
turn  from  the  symbolism  of  vision  and  act  to  simple  exhortation 
or  promise.  In  such  case,  he  repeats  the  old  message  of  the 
early  writing  prophets  —  the  message  of  justice,  mercy,  and  truth, 
rather  than  ceremonial. 

Speak  unto  all  the  people  of  the  land,  and  to  the  priests,  saying,  When  ye 
fasted  and  mourned  in  the  fifth  and  in  the  seventh  month,  even  these 
seventy  years,  did  ye  at  all  fast  unto  me,  even  to  me  ?  And  when  ye  eat, 
and  when  ye  drink,  do  not  ye  eat  for  yourselves,  and  drink  for  yourselves  ? 
Should  ye  not  hear  the  words  which  Jehovah  cried  by  the  former  prophets, 
when  Jerusalem  was  inhabited  and  in  prosperity,  and  the  cities  thereof 
round  about  her,  and  the  South  and  the  lowland  were  inhabited  ? 

And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto  Zechariah,  saying,  Thus  hath 
Jehovah  of  hosts  spoken,  saying,  Execute  true  judgment,  and  show 
kindness  and  compassion  every  man  to  his  brother;  and  oppress  not 
the  widow,  nor  the  fatherless,  the  sojourner,  nor  the  poor ;  and  let  none  of 
you  devise  evil  against  his  brother  in  your  heart.2 

1 0  9-15^     Yor  discussion  of  this  passage,  see  G.  A.  Smith,  Book  of  the 
Twelve  Prophets,  Vol.  II,  p.  309. 
'Zechariah?6-10. 


280  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Most  of  Zechariah's  writing  is  in  prose  form,  but  at  times  he 
breaks  forth  into  song,  as  when  he  appeals  to  the  exiles  to  return 
from  Babylon :  — 

Hoy,  Hoy,  flee  from  the  land  of  the  north, 

Oracle  of  Jehovah  ; 
For  from  the  four  winds  of  heaven  I  gather  you, 

Oracle  of  Jehovah. 

Hoy,  escape  to  Zion,  thou  that  dwellest  in  Babylon, 
For  thus  sayeth  Jehovah  of  hosts, 
The  one  touching  you,  toucheth  apple  of  my  eye. 
Lo,  I  am  about  to  shake  my  hand  over  them, 
And  they  shall  be  spoil  to  their  servants. 
And  ye  shall  know  that  Jehovah  of  hosts  sent  me.1 

The  work  of  rebuilding  the  temple  was  completed  two  years 
after  the  last  recorded  word  of  Zechariah.  It  was  after  this  work 
was  accomplished  that  a  poet  whose  voice  is  that  of  "the  great 
unknown"  heard  in  Isaiah  40-55  sings  of  Jerusalem's  glory. 
Whether  it  is  the  same  prophet  or  one  of  kindred  spirit  we  cannot 
say.  His  first  hymn  begins :  — 

Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is  come, 
And  the  glory  of  Jehovah  is  risen  upon  thee. 
For,  behold,  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth, 
And  gross  darkness  the  peoples ; 
But  Jehovah  will  arise  upon  thee, 
And  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee. 
And  nations  shall  come  to  thy  light, 
And  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising.2 

The  concluding  lines  of  this  lyric  are  peculiarly  beautiful :  — 

I  will  also  make  thy  officers  peace, 

And  thine  exactors  righteousness. 

Violence  shall  no  more  be  heard  in  thy  land, 

Desolation  nor  destruction  within  thy  borders ; 

But  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  Salvation, 

And  thy  gates  Praise. 

1  Zechariah  2  6~9.     Translation  based  on  a  revised  text ;   emendations 
suggested  chiefly  by  Septuagint  readings. 
1  Isaiah  60 1~*. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION      281 

The  sun  shall  be  no  more  thy  light  by  day  f 

Neither  for  brightness  shall  the  moon  give  light  for  thee : 

But  Jehovah  will  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting  light, 

And  thy  God  thy  glory. 

Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down, 

Neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself ; 

For  Jehovah  will  be  thine  everlasting  light, 

And  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended. 

Thy  people  also  shall  be  all  righteous ; 

They  shall  inherit  the  land  forever, 

The  branch  of  my  planting, 

The  work  of  my  hands,  that  I  may  be  glorified. 

The  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand, 

And  the  small  one  a  strong  nation : 

I,  Jehovah,  will  hasten  it  hi  its  tune.1 

The  following  poem  opens  with  the  supreme  expression  of  the 
true  mission  of  Jehovah's  messenger.  When  he  who  was  the 
perfect  revelation  of  his  Father  would  bring  to  the  neighbors  of 
his  boyhood  home  an  understanding  of  the  mission  which  he  had 
undertaken,  it  was  these  words  he  made  his  own.2 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  upon  me ; 

Because  Jehovah  hath  anointed  me 

To  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek ; 

He  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted, 

To  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives, 

And  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound ; 

To  proclaim  the  year  of  Jehovah's  favor, 

And  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ; 

To  comfort  all  that  mourn ; 

To  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion, 

To  give  unto  them  a  garland  for  ashes, 

The  oil  of  joy  for  mourning, 

The  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness ; 

That  they  may  be  called  trees  of  righteousness, 

The  planting  of  Jehovah,  that  he  may  be  glorified.8 

To  bring  the  message  of  comfort  to  the  scattered  and  broken- 
hearted exiles  of  his  race,  to  announce  to  them  that  the  hour  of 

1  Isaiah  60 17b-M.  2  Luke  4  ».  » Isaiah  61 l~*. 


282  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Jehovah's  deliverance  was  at  hand,  to  turn  their  mourning  into 
rejoicing,  were  precisely  the  ends  which  the  wonderful  prophet  of 
restoration  was  striving  to  attain;  but  they  were  ends  which 
only  a  greater  than  he  could  achieve. 

The  remaining  prophecies  of  Isaiah  56-66  are  of  uncertain  date 
and  authorship.  Some  of  them  may  even  date  from  the  years 
after  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  by  Nehemiah,  in  the  middle  of 
the  fifth  century.  Some  seem  to  come  from  the  years  of  discour- 
agement that  followed  upon  the  high  hopes  of  the  earlier  resto- 
ration with  its  rebuilding  of  the  temple. 

Noble  thoughts  nobly  expressed  appear  in  these  chapters  again 
and  again,  shining  all  the  more  brilliantly  because  of  the  dark 
background.  The  old,  prophetic  demand  for  justice  that  rang  out 
so  clear  in  the  eighth  century  is  reiterated :  Thus  saith  Jehovah, 
Keep  ye  justice  and  do  righteousness ;  for  my  salvation  is  near  to 
come,  and  my  righteousness  to  be  revealed.1  For  I,  Jehovah, 
love  justice,  I  hate  robbery  with  iniquity;  and  I  will  give  them 
their  recompense  in  truth,  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  them.2 

The  profound  truth  that  moral  wrong  separates  from  God  is 
heard  once  more :  — 

Lo,  Jehovah's  hand  is  not  shortened  to  deliver, 

Nor  is  his  ear  too  dull  to  hear ; 

But  your  guilt  has  become  a  barrier 

Between  you  and  your  God. 

And  your  sins  have  hidden  his  face  from  you, 

For  your  hands  are  defiled  with  blood, 

And  your  fingers  with  guilt. 

Your  lips  speak  falsehood ; 

Your  tongue  mutters  wrong.3 

The  description  of  the  true  service  which  Jehovah  would  have 
reaches  a  climax  in  Isaiah  58  :  — 

Is  such  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen  ? 

The  day  for  a  man  to  afflict  his  soul  ?  % 

Is  it  to  bow  down  his  head  as  a  rush, 

And  to  spread  sackcloth  and  ashes  under  him  ? 

1  Isaiah  56 ».  2  Isaiah  61 8.  3  Isaiah  59  l~*. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       283 

"Wilt  thou  call  this  a  fast, 

And  an  acceptable  day  to  Jehovah  ? 

Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen : 

To  loose  the  bonds  of  wickedness, 

To  undo  the  bands  of  the  yoke, 

And  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free, 

And  that  ye  break  every  yoke  ? 

Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry, 

And  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house  ? 

When  thou  seest  the  naked  that  thou  cover  him  ; 

And  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ? 

Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  as  the  morning, 

And  thy  healing  shall  spring  forth  speedily ; 

And  thy  righteousness  shall  go  before  thee ; 

The  glory  of  Jehovah  shall  be  thy  rearward. 

Then  shalt  thou  call,  and  Jehovah  will  answer ; 

Thou  shalt  cry,  and  he  will  say,  here  I  am.1 

To  this  message  of  Israel's  prophets,  reiterated  in  varying  form 
from  the  days  before  the  fall  of  Northern  Israel  till  the  restoration 
of  Judah,  no  word  can  be  added  until  Jesus  himself  shall  picture  the 
final  day  of  testing :  — 

Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world :  for  I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  to  eat ;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  ye  gave  me  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and 
ye  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye 
came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying,  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  hungry,  and  fed  thee?  or  athirst,  and  gave  thee 
drink  ?  And  when  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or  naked, 
and  clothed  thee  ?  And  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee  ?  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my  brethren,  even 
these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me.2 

The  Restoration  period  was  rich  in  songs  that  have  found  place 
in  the  book  of  Psalms. 

By  the  rivers  of  Babylon, 
There  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept, 
When  we  remembered  Zion 3 
1  Isaiah  58  *-8.  2  Matthew  25  "-40.  »  Psalm  137 ». 


284  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

gives  expression  to  a  luxury  of  retrospective  grief  and  leads  on  to 
terrible  imprecation  upon  the  enemies  of  586.  A  large  number 
of  psalms  that  picture  harassment  by  petty  enemies  find  their 
best  setting  in  the  years  before  Nehemiah  built  the  walls  (444  B.C.) 
and  enabled  the  city  to  defend  itself.  Such  an  one  is  Psalm  9-10, 
originally  one  poem.  A  part  of  this  is :  — 

I  will  give  thanks  unto  Jehovah  with  my  whole  heart ; 

I  will  show  forth  all  thy  marvellous  works. 

I  will  be  glad  and  exult  in  thee ; 

I  will  sing  praise  to  thy  name,  0  thou  Most  High. 

When  mine  enemies  turn  back, 

They  stumble  and  perish  at  thy  presence. 

For  thou  hast  maintained  my  right  and  my  cause ; 

Jehovah  also  will  be  a  high  tower  for  the  oppressed, 

A  high  tower  in  times  of  trouble ; 

And  they  that  know  thy  name  will  put  their  trust  in  thee ; 

For  thou,  Jehovah,  hast  not  forsaken  them  that  seek  thee. 

Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  Jehovah ; 

Behold  my  affliction  which  I  suffer  of  them  that  hate  me, 

Thou  that  lif test  me  up  from  the  gates  of  death ; 

That  I  may  show  forth  all  thy  praise. 

In  the  gates  of  the  daughter  of  Zion. 

I  will  rejoice  in  thy  salvation. 

Arise,  0  Jehovah ;  let  not  man  prevail : 

Let  the  nations  be  judged  in  thy  sight. 

Put  them  in  fear,  0  Jehovah : 

Let  the  nations  know  themselves  to  be  but  men.1 

Some  penitential  prayers  are  among  the  more  beautiful  songs 
of  this  era.    Psalm  6  may  be  the  oldest  of  these. 

0  Jehovah,  rebuke  me  not  in  thine  anger, 

Neither  chasten  me  in  thy  hot  displeasure. 

Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  Jehovah ;  for  I  am  withered  away : 

O  Jehovah,  heal  me ;  for  my  bones  are  troubled. 

My  soul  also  is  sore  troubled : 

And  thou,  0  Jehovah,  how  long? 

Return,  0  Jehovah,  deliver  my  soul : 

Save  me  for  thy  lovingkindness'  sake. 

1  Psalm  9  !-4'  9-10» "-"» 19-20. 


SONGS  AND  ORACLES  OF  THE  RESTORATION       285 

For  in  death  there  is  no  remembrance  of  thee : 

In  Sheol  who  shall  give  thee  thanks  ? 

I  am  weary  with  my  groaning ; 

Every  night  make  I  my  bed  to  swim ; 

I  water  my  couch  with  my  tears. 

Mine  eye  wasteth  away  because  of  grief; 

It  waxeth  old  because  of  all  mine  adversaries. 

Depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity  ; 

For  Jehovah  hath  heard  the  voice  of  my  weeping. 

Jehovah  hath  heard  my  supplication  ; 

Jehovah  will  receive  my  prayer. 

All  mine  enemies  shall  be  put  to  shame  and  sore  troubled : 

They  shall  turn  back,  they  shall  be  put  to  shame  suddenly. 

The  adversaries  who  appear  within  this  psalm  are  foes  within  the 
community.     More  beautiful  in  its  thought  is 

Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven, 

Whose  sin  is  covered. 

Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  Jehovah  imputeth  not  iniquity. 

And  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile. 

When  I  kept  silence,  my  bones  wasted  away 

Through  my  groaning  all  the  day  long. 

For  day  and  night  thy  hand  was  heavy  upon  me : 

My  moisture  was  changed  as  with  the  drought  of  summer. 

I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto  thee, 

And  mine  iniquity  did  I  not  hide : 

I  said,  I  will  confess  my  transgressions  unto  Jehovah ; 

And  thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin. 

For  this  let  every  one  that  is  godly  pray  unto  thee  in  a  tune  when  thou 

mayest  be  found : 
Surely  when  the  great  waters  overflow  they  shall  not  reach  unto  him.1 

Such  poetic  expressions  indicate  the  deep  sense  of  guilt  that 
rested  upon  the  harassed  community  which  rebuilt  the  temple, 
but  could  not  defend  itself  against  jealous  neighbors.  Zechariah's 
visions,  at  the  time  of  rebuilding,  were  in  part  addressed  to  the 
task  of  convincing  the  people  that  Jehovah  no  longer  imputed 
iniquity. 

The  very  beautiful  and  familiar  penitential  psalm  51,  with  its 
prayer  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  in  order  that 

1  Psalm  32  i-4. 


286  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

worthy  offerings  may  be  made,  comes  from  the  time  just  before  or 
during  Nehemiah's  work.    It  begins:  — 

Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  God,  according  to  thy  lovingkindness : 
According  to  the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies  blot  out  my  trans- 
gressions. 

Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity, 

And  cleanse  me  from  my  sin.  * 

For  I  know  my  transgressions ; 
And  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned, 
And  done  that  which  is  evil  in  thy  sight ; 
That  thou  mayest  be  justified  when  thou  speakest, 
And  be  clear  when  thou  judgest. 


CHAPTER  XX 

PROPHECY  AND  NARRATIVE  OF  NEHEMIAH's  REFORM 

(About  450  to  432  B.C.) 

THE  temple  was  brought  to  completion  in  516  B.C.,  but  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem,  thrown  down  in  586,  were  not  then  restored.  So 
the  ancient  stronghold  lay  open  and  unprotected,  and  the  Judean 
community  could  not  maintain  itself  separate  from  the  mixed 
surrounding  population.  On  the  south  the  Edomites  remained 
in  possession  of  a  part  of  the  old  territory  of  Judea ;  on  the  west 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Philistine  plain  were  hi  close  communication 
with  the  Judeans ;  on  the  north  the  mixed  population,  made  up 
chiefly  of  the  remnants  of  Israel  and  the  various  pagan  peoples 
who  had  been  forcibly  settled  among  them  two  centuries  before, 
were  hi  constant  business  intercourse  and  were  also  sharing  the 
worship  of  the  new  temple;  even  the  Arabians  on  the  east  were 
in  close  touch.  All  these  little  peoples  taken  together  made 
only  a  part  of  one  of  the  great  satrapies  into  which  Darius  divided 
the  vast  Persian  Empire,  and  none  of  them  could  have  a  very 
distinct  political  or  commercial  life.  Through  the  inevitable 
intermingling  of  the  Judean  community  with  these  various  neigh- 
bors, racial  identity  was  rapidly  being  lost.  The  exiles  in  Babylon 
were  under  far  more  favorable  conditions  for  the  preservation  of 
racial  and  religious  integrity  as  well  as  for  economic  and  social 
advancement.  With  the  commercial  adaptability  of  then1  race, 
they  entered  into  the  activity  of  Babylonia  under  the  liberal 
conditions  afforded  by  the  Persian  government. 

The  prophet  Malachi,  speaking  when  some  seventy  discouraging 
years  had  passed  after  the  completion  of  the  temple,  gives  a  vivid 
picture  from  life  of  the  general  pessimism  and  religious  scepticism 
that  had  followed  upon  the  disappointment  of  the  high  hopes 
roused  by  the  prophets  of  the  closing  years  of  exile  and  of  the 
partial  restoration.  The  people  looked  for  the  evidence  of  God's 

287 


288  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

love  in  material  prosperity.  This  was  in  accord  with  the  ancient 
doctrine,  so  clearly  presented  in  its  national  aspects  in  Deuter- 
onomy and  so  forcibly  emphasized  in  the  Deuteronomic  editing 
of  the  nation's  history.  Haggai,  the  practical  man  whose  work 
was  to  get  the  immediate  thing  done,  had  pressed  this  doctrine  to 
the  extreme,  in  rousing  the  people  to  build.  They  had  built 
the  temple  for  God,  three  score  years  and  ten  had  gone  by,  and 
where  was  Jehovah's  shaking  of  the  nations  and  filling  this  house 
with  glory  ?  If  the  silver  and  the  gold  were  his  to  give,  why  did 
he  not  bestow  them  upon  the  people  who  had  labored  and  sacri- 
ficed to  build  his  house  ?  With  their  low  standard,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  people  said,  "Wherein  hast  thou  loved  us?"  or  "It  is 
vain  to  serve  God."1 

Malachi  could  do  little  to  prove  that  God  did  love,  save  to 
point  back  to  very  ancient  history,2  and  to  promise  for  the  future.3 
He  could,  however,  on  very  good  ground,  show  the  people  that  they 
did  not  deserve  any  more  prosperity  than  they  were  enjoying. 

Ye  offer  polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar.  And  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we 
polluted  thee?  In  that  ye  say,  The  table  of  Jehovah  is  contemptible. 
And  when  ye  offer  the  blind  for  sacrifice,  it  is  no  evil !  and  when  ye  offer 
the  lame  and  sick,  it  is  no  evil !  Presen  t  it  now  unto  thy  governor ;  will 
he  be  pleased  with  thee?  or  will  he  accept  thy  person?  saith  Jehovah 
of  hosts. 

Ye  say  also,  Behold,  what  a  weariness  is  it !  and  ye  have  snuffed  at 
it,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts ;  and  ye  have  brought  that  which  was  taken  by 
violence,  and  the  lame,  and  the  sick ;  thus  ye  bring  the  offering :  should  I 
accept  this  at  your  hand?  saith  Jehovah.  But  cursed  be  the  deceiver, 
who  hath  in  his  flock  a  male,  and  voweth,  and  sacrificeth  unto  the  Lord  a 
blemished  thing ;  for  I  am  a  great  King,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts,  and  my 
name  is  terrible  among  the  Gentiles.4 

Will  a  man  rob  God  ?  yet  ye  rob  me.  But  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we 
robbed  thee?  In  tithes  and  offerings.  Ye  are  cursed  with  the  curse; 
for  ye  rob  me,  even  this  whole  nation.  Bring  ye  the  whole  tithe  into  the 
store-house,  that  there  may  be  food  in  my  house.8 

They  were  worshipping  after  a  fashion,  but  a  very  poor  fashion, 
and,  too,  they  were  intermarrying  with  the  heathen,  divorcing  their 

i  MalacM  1 2,  3  ".  2  Ibid.  1  3.  « Ibid.  1 «. 

4  Ibid.  1  7~8-  13~14.  B  Ibid.  3  8~loa. 


NEHEMIAH'S  REFORM  289 

Jewish  wives  in  order  to  make  favorable  alliances.1  Moral  vices, 
such  as  the  ancient  prophets  had  so  strenuously  condemned,  were 
naturally  rife  at  a  time  when  loyalty  to  Jehovah  went  no  further 
than  keeping  up  a  wretched,  perfunctory  ritual. 

And  I  will  come  near  to  you  to  judgment ;  and  I  will  be  a  swift  witness 
against  the  sorcerers,  and  against  the  adulterers,  and  against  the  false 
swearers,  and  against  those  that  oppress  the  hireling  in  his  wages,  the 
widow,  and  the  fatherless,  and  that  turn  aside  the  sojourner  from  his 
right,  and  fear  not  me,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts.2 

In  a  somewhat  Socratic  method,  Malachi  thus  draws  out  the 
shortcomings  of  the  people.  He  is  not,  however,  able  to  see  the 
weakness  of  the  conception  that  material  rewards  should  be 
proportionate  to  spiritual  virtues,  on  which  the  scepticism  and 
lax  conduct  rest.  If  Malachi  had  read  the  poem  of  the  Suffering 
Servant,  its  truth  had  not  reached  him.  His  message  is :  — 

Bring  ye  the  whole  tithe  into  the  store-house,  that  there  may  be  food  in 
my  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts,  if  I  will 
not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  de- 
vourer  for  your  sakes,  and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground  ; 
neither  shall  your  vine  cast  its  fruit  before  the  time  hi  the  field,  saith 
Jehovah  of  hosts.  And  all  nations  shall  call  you  happy ;  for  ye  shall  be 
a  delightsome  land,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts.3 

Toward  the  illumination  of  this  doctrine  of  rewards,  with  its 
partial  truth  and  partial  error,  Malachi  has  nothing  to  offer. 
From  his  viewpoint,  the  only  hope  is  hi  the  coming  of  a  refiner 
and  purifier  who  shall  purge  the  people  as  gold  and  silver,  that 
they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  hi  righteousness.4  The 
only  mitigation  of  the  future  judgment  is  that  before  the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come,  there  shall  be  one  to  warn  as 
Elijah  warned  Ahab,  lest  Jehovah  come  and  smite  the  earth  with 
a  curse.5 

Malachi  had  learned  something  of  the  truth  that  had  been  new 
when  the  prophets  who  preceded  him  first  taught  it,  but  his  mind 
was  too  completely  dominated  by  mechanical,  priestly  con- 

1  Malachi  2  «-".  *  Ibid.  3  8.  » Ibid.  3  1(M». 

4  Ibid.  3  *-».  5  Ibid.  4  *-• 

u 


290  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

ceptions  to  follow  them  to  the  heights  that  they  had  attained. 
The  priestly  age  so  distinctly  foreshadowed  in  Ezekiel  is  at 
hand. 

The  conditions  indicated  by  Malachi  are  those  which  Nehemiah 
finds  when  he  reaches  Jerusalem  in  444  B.C.  The  work  which  this 
great  leader  must  undertake  is  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  walls. 
To  carry  out  any  thoroughgoing  reforms,  the  people  must  be  able 
to  separate  their  worship,  and,  to  some  extent,  their  entire  life 
from  the  intermingling  of  pagan'  and  semi-pagan  neighbors.  This 
done,  it  is  possible  to  maintain  a  rigid  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
and  to  put  an  effectual  stop  to  the  mixing  of  the  Jewish  blood 
through  foreign  marriage.  With  the  establishment  of  a  regular 
poll  tax  for  the  support  of  the  temple  worship,  the  wretched 
condition  of  this  worship  pictured  by  Malachi  could  not  recur. 
The  reforms  carried  out  by  Nehemiah  are  directed  toward  exactly 
the  conditions  that  Malachi  deplored  and  which  seemed  to  him 
curable  only  by  the  refiner's  fire. 

Nehemiah's  work  was  epoch-making ;  without  it  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  Jew  and  Judaism  in  Palestine  would  have  been  impos- 
sible.1 Its  story  is  told  by  Nehemiah  himself,  in  a  notable  memoir 
that  is  now  embodied  in  the  later  book  of  Nehemiah  as  chapters 
1-2,  4-7  5a,  12  31-32'  "-40,  13  4-30.2  From  both  the  historical  and 
literary  point  of  view  this  memoir  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
documents  of  ancient  Israel;  historically,  it  is  the  first-hand 
testimony  of  the  leader  of  an  undertaking  that  made  possible  the 
Judaism  which  persisted  from  400  B.C.  until  the  coming  of  Jesus, 
and  has  persisted  even  to  the  present  day ;  as  a  piece  of  narrative, 
it  is  the  autobiographical  writing  of  one  of  the  men  who  have 
determined  the  course  of  history  during  many  centuries. 

The  Commentaries  of  Caesar  give  no  more  vivid  pictures  of 
strategy  and  struggle  and  do  not  reveal  the  writer  himself  as  in- 
timately as  this  diary  of  Nehemiah.  The  night  ride  of  inspection 
gives  a  picture  that  forever  holds  the  imagination :  — 

1  In  this  discussion  it  is  assumed  that  the  work  of  Ezra  is  later  than  that 
of  Nehemiah.     See  Chapter  XXI,  p.  307. 

2  In  its  present  form,  13  4~30  is  probably  recast  by  the  editor  of  the 
present  book.    See  Kent,  Israel's  Historical  and  Biographical  Narratives, 
p.  362. 


NEHEMIAH'S  REFORM  291 

And  I  arose  in  the  night,  I  and  some  few  men  with  me ;  neither  told  I 
any  man  what  my  God  put  into  my  heart  to  do  for  Jerusalem ;  neither 
was  there  any  beast  with  me,  save  the  beast  that  I  rode  upon.  And  I 
went  out  by  night  by  the  valley  gate,  even  toward  the  jackal's  well,  and 
to  the  dung  gate,  and  viewed  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  which  were  broken 
down,  and  the  gates  thereof  were  consumed  with  fire.  Then  I  went  on 
to  the  fountain  gate  and  to  the  king's  pool ;  but  there  was  no  place  for 
the  beast  that  was  under  me  to  pass.  Then  went  I  up  in  the  night  by 
the  brook,  and  viewed  the  wall ;  and  I  turned  back,  and  entered  by  the 
valley  gate,  and  so  returned.  And  the  rulers  knew  not  whither  I  went, 
or  what  I  did ;  neither  had  I  as  yet  told  it  to  the  Jews,  nor  to  the  priests, 
nor  to  the  nobles,  nor  to  the  rulers,  nor  to  the  rest  that  did  the  work. l 

The  story  of  the  plots  to  secure  possession  of  Nehemiah's  per- 
son or  to  discredit  him  reveal  the  man  most  interestingly. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  when  it  was  reported  to  Sanballat  and  Tobiah, 
and  to  Geshem  the  Arabian,  and  unto  the  rest  of  our  enemies,  that  I 
had  builded  the  wall,  and  that  there  was  no  breach  left  therein  (though 
even  unto  that  time  I  had  not  set  up  the  doors  in  the  gates),  that 
Sanballat  and  Geshem  sent  unto  me  saying,  Come,  let  us  meet  together 
in  one  of  the  villages  hi  the  plain  of  Ono.  But  they  thought  to  do  me 
mischief.  And  I  sent  messengers  unto  them,  saying,  I  am  doing  a  great  work, 
so  that  I  cannot  come  down :  why  should  the  work  cease,  whilst  I  leave 
it,  and  come  down  to  you  ?  And  they  sent  unto  me  four  tunes  after  this 
sort ;  and  I  answered  them  after  the  same  manner.  Then  sent  Sanballat 
his  servant  unto  me  in  like  manner  the  fifth  time  with  an  open  letter  in 
his  hand,  wherein  was  written,  It  is  reported  among  the  nations,  and 
Gashmu  saith  it,  that  thou  and  the  Jews  think  to  rebel ;  for  which  cause 
thou  art  building  the  wall :  and  thou  wouldst  be  their  king,  according  to 
these  words.  And  thou  hast  also  appointed  prophets  to  preach  of  thee  at 
Jerusalem,  saying,  There  is  a  king  in  Judah :  and  now  shall  it  be  reported 
to  the  king  according  to  these  words.  Come  now  therefore,  and  let  us 
take  counsel  together.  Then  I  sent  unto  him,  saying,  There  are  no  such 
things  done  as  thou  sayest,  but  thou  feignest  them  out  of  thine  own  heart. 
For  they  all  would  have  made  us  afraid,  saying,  Their  hands  shall  be 
weakened  from  the  work,  that  it  be  not  done.  But  now,  0  God,  strengthen 
thou  my  hands. 

And  I  went  unto  the  house  of  Shemaiah  the  son  of  Delaiah  the  son  of 
Mehetabel,  who  was  shut  up ;  and  he  said,  Let  us  meet  together  in  the 

1  Nehemiah  2  **-*. 


292  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

house  of  God,  within  the  temple,  and  let  us  shut  the  doors  of  the  temple : 
for  they  will  come  to  slay  thee ;  yea,  in  the  night  will  they  come  to  slay 
thee.  And  I  said,  Should  such  a  man  as  I  flee  ?  and  who  is  there,  that, 
being  such  as  I,  would  go  into  the  temple  to  save  his  life  ?  I  will  not  go 
in.  And  I  discerned,  and,  lo,  God  had  not  sent  him ;  but  he  pronounced 
this  prophecy  against  me :  and  Tobiah  and  Sanballat  had  hired  him.  For 
this  cause  was  he  hired,  that  I  should  be  afraid,  and  do  so,  and  sin,  and 
that  they  might  have  matter  for  an  evil  report,  that  they  might  reproach 
me.  Remember,  0  my  God,  Tobiah  and  Sanballat  according  to  these 
their  works,  and  also  the  prophetess  Noadiah,  and  the  rest  of  the  prophets, 
that  would  have  put  me  in  fear.1 

Here  as  elsewhere  the  pervading  impression  is  of  the  simplicity 
of  the  truly  great  man.  Shrewd  to  see  the  machinations  of  his 
enemies,  in  his  own  life  he  was  simple  and  direct,  moving  along 
broad,  straight  lines.  The  wealthy  governor  who  needed  not  to 
collect  the  taxes  of  his  little  province  for  his  own  support ;  who 
yet  entertained  at  his  table  day  by  day  with  regal  generosity ; 
the  confidential,  loved,  and  trusted  officer  of  the  ruler  of  the 
vastest  and  best  governed  empire  the  world  had  ever  seen,  shows 
us  his  heart  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child. 

1  Nehemiah  6  l~u. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

PRIESTLY   IDEALS  IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY 

(About  450  to  about  300  B.C.} 

THE  composite  history  of  the  exodus  and  wilderness  periods 
which  the  Jews  carried  with  them  to  Babylon  contained  the  brief 
law  codes  of  Exodus  20-23  and  24,  ascribed  to  the  Sinai  period. 
This  history,  as  edited  and  expanded  during  the  exile,  contained 
also  the  Deuteronomic  code,  ascribed  to  the  east-Jordan  sojourn. 
These  codes  dealt  in  part  with  laws  of  sacrificial  worship,  but  the 
priestly  ritual,  as  a  whole,  was  handed  down  mainly  through  the 
unbroken  usage  and  tradition  of  the  sanctuary,  until  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  interrupted  for  seventy  years  the  temple  worship. 
Then  the  exiled  priests  were  stimulated  to  commit  to  writing  and 
so  preserve  for  future  generations  the  ceremonial  practices  of 
Jehovah's  worship.  The  first  fruits  of  this  movement  were  the 
code  of  laws  now  constituting  chapters  17  to  26  (perhaps  11  also) 
of  Leviticus  and  Ezekiel's  plan  for  the  restored  temple-worship. 
We  have  noted  already  (Chapter  XVII)  that  Ezekiel  introduced 
into  his  plan  some  elements  unknown  before  the  exile.  In  some 
respects  his  ideas  seem  to  be  an  advance  upon  those  of  Leviticus 
17-26,  which,  it  is  inferred,  was  probably  codified  chiefly  between 
597  and  586.  The  central  idea  of  this  first  Leviticus  code  is  indi- 
cated by  the  frequent  repetition  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  Jehovah 
your  God"  and  similar  phrases,  which  have  led  to  its  designation, 
in  modern  times,  as  the  "Law  of  Holiness."  Some  of  the  laws 
deal  with  general  social  relations,  but  the  chief  interest  of  the 
code  is  ritual  purity.  Doubtless  these  laws  embody  very  ancient 
practice,  but  in  some  features  they  show  development  beyond  those 
of  Exodus  20-23  and  Deuteronomy  12-26. 

After  the  temple  was  rebuilt  hi  520-516  B.C.,  we  have  seen 
from  contemporary  evidence  that  worship  was  conducted  in  a 
wretched  way  down  to  the  time  of  Nehemiah.  Meanwhile  the 

293 


294  THE    LITERATURE   OF   ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

greater  portion  of  the  people  remained  in  Babylonia,  and  the 
priestly  portion  of  the  community  busied  itself  hi  codifying  and 
further  developing  the  law,  against  the  day  when  there  might 
come  a  more  complete  restoration.  The  result  of  their  labors  is 
seen  in  the  remainder  of  Leviticus  and  many  laws  of  kindred  form 
and  character  hi  Exodus  and  Numbers. 

The  older  combined  history,  even  with  its  Deuteronomic  editing, 
did  not  adequately  present  certain  aspects  of  the  history  from  the 
priestly  point  of  view.  The  priests  in  Babylonia  were,  for  exam- 
ple, greatly  interested  in  preserving  pure  tribal  blood  and  devel- 
oped elaborate  genealogies.  As  time  passed  by,  therefore,  the 
men  who  wrote  the  ritual  laws,  or  others  of  kindred  spirit,  were 
moved  to  write  a  genealogical  and  historical  outline  into  which 
the  laws  might  be  fitted,  as  those  of  the  earlier  codes  were  fitted 
into  the  history  already  existing.  These  men  felt  the  great 
importance  of  preserving  the  sense  of  family  and  tribal  identity 
and  the  national  religious  customs,  such  as  the  Sabbath,  circum- 
cision, and  the  sacrifices.  Above  all  they  would  emphasize  the 
covenant  relation  between  Jehovah  and  Israel,  the  very  basis  of 
their  religion,  in  distinction  from  the  religions  that  regarded  the 
gods  as  belonging  to  certain  districts  or  tribes  intrinsically,  rather 
than  by  voluntary  choice  and  mutual  agreement.  In  briefly 
rewriting  the  history,  they  brought  out  the  covenant  idea  and 
recorded  the  institution  of  the  ritual  practices,  as  it  seemed  to 
them  these  must  have  developed  from  the  earliest  times.  Into 
this  as  a  framework  they  fitted  their  law  codes  as  given  at  Sinai, 
where  they  accounted  the  most  elaborate  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion to  have  been  established,  quite  contrary  to  the  representation 
of  the  earlier  histories.1 

It  is  one  of  the  easiest  tasks  of  Old  Testament  criticism  to  dis- 

1This  recalls  the  phrase  from  later  Rabbinic  literature,  "a  law  from 
Moses  on  Sinai."  Under  this  caption  were  included  parts  of  the  oral  law 
(as  distinguished  from  the  written  or  Old  Testament  code)  which  had  pre- 
viously not  been  definitely  formulated  or  gathered  in  writing.  This  phrase 
for  centuries  was  taken  literally  to  mean  that  these  oral  laws  were  also  given 
by  Moses  on  Sinai.  More  critical  study  has  suggested  that  it  is  but  a  pro- 
jection in  time  back  to  Moses  and  to  Sinai  of  such  common  customs  and 
laws  as  had  become  binding  after  centuries  of  usage.  The  process  is  inter- 
esting as  being  parallel  to  the  above. 


PRIESTLY   IDEALS  IN   LAW  AND  HISTORY          295 

tinguish  this  strand  of  narrative  and  legal  material  from  the 
earlier  documents  with  which  it  was  eventually  interwoven.  Its 
language,  style,  interests,  and  theological  conceptions  separate 
it  as  widely  from  the  earlier  documents  as  a  pre-Darwinian  treatise 
on  natural  history  is  separated  from  a  modern  work  on  biology. 

The  new  history  opened  with  the  systematic,  lofty,  and  mature 
account  of  creation  now  found  in  Genesis  1-2  4*.  It  is  this  latest 
account  that  some  scientists  have  sought  to  harmonize  with 
modern  cosmogony.  Side  by  side  with  this  latest  narrative  there 
stands  in  OUT  Genesis  (2  4ff)  the  picturesque  story  of  creation  taken 
from  the  early  Judean  history.  No  attempt  is  made  to  harmonize 
the  latter  with  present-day  science.  In  the  one,  the  style  is  rigid 
and  repetitious,  but  of  majestic  movement,  while  the  thought  is 
orderly  and  progressive.  In  the  other  the  style  is  "free  and 
flowing"  without  rigid,  repetitious  phrases;  the  arrangement  is 
that  of  the  story-teller  who  orders  his  material  for  its  picturesque 
effect  and  cares  little  for  exact  chronological  order. 

In  reading  Genesis  1  and  2,  one  comes  suddenly,  in  the  latter 
part  of  verse  4  of  chapter  2,  into  a  new  vocabulary.1  It  is  no 
longer  God  but  Jehovah  God  who  acts ;  he  no  longer  creates  but 
makes  and  forms.  The  first  story  shows  its  interest  by  its  cul- 
mination in  the  sanctifying  of  the  seventh  day ;  the  second  leads 
on  to  the  temptation  and  fall.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  difference 
of  all  is  in  the  conception  of  God.  In  the  first  chapter  he  creates 
by  fiat ;  he  sees  that  his  work  is  good  and  approves  it,  but  there 
is  no  suggestion  of  a  being  who  walks  and  talks  among  men.  In 
the  second  story,  he  takes  material,  he  shapes  it,  and  breathes  into 
it  as  though  he  were  a  physical  being ;  his  voice  is  heard,  walking 
in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day,  and  altogether  the  conception 
is  anthropomorphic  and  primitive. 

The  second  narrative  was  considered  hi  Chapter  V  as  the  open- 
ing of  the  great  Judean  history  that  was  compiled  in  the  ninth 
century  B.C.,  not  later  than  800.  The  first  chapter  is  from  the 
opening  of  the  priestly  history  compiled  hi  the  fifth  century  B.C. 
In  the  four  centuries  separating  the  two,  lies  all  the  work  of  the 
great  prophets  from  Amos  to  the  Great  Unknown,  who  gradually 

1  The  beginner  in  Hebrew  who  has  learned  to  read  quite  freely  in  the 
vocabulary  and  style  of  chapter  1,  comes  up  with  a  round  turn. 


296  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

developed  the  idea  of  God  until  he  was  at  last  conceived  as  creator 
and  preserver  of  all  the  visible  universe. 

The  priestly  account  of  creation  ends  with  the  phrase  "These 
are  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  We  next  meet 
a  similar  phrase  in  chapter  5 l,  and  immediately  the  student  of  the 
original  finds  himself  in  the  familiar  vocabulary  of  1-2 4a,  and  the 
style  suddenly  becomes  rigid  and  repetitious. 

This  is  the  book  of  the  generations  of  Adam.  In  the  day  that  God 
created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him;  male  and  female 
created  he  them,  and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name  Adam,  in  the 
day  when  they  were  created.  And  Adam  lived  a  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image;  and  called 
his  name  Seth :  and  the  days  of  Adam  after  he  begat  Seth  were  eight 
hundred  years ;  and  he  begat  sons  and  daughters.  And  all  the  days  that 
Adam  lived  were  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years :  and  he  died. 

And  Seth  lived  a  hundred  and  five  years,  and  begat  Enosh :  and  Seth 
lived  after  he  begat  Enosh  eight  hundred  and  seven  years,  and  begat  sons 
and  daughters :  and  all  the  days  of  Seth  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve 
years:  and  he  died. 

And  Enosh,  lived  ninety  years,  and  begat  Kenan :  etc.1 

The  parallel  genealogy  of  416~25  that  cannot  retain  a  regular 
form  for  two  verses,  stands  in  striking  contrast :  — 

And  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  and  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Nod,  on  the  east  of  Eden.  And  Cain  knew  his  wife;  and  she 
conceived,  and  bare  Enoch :  and  he  builded  a  city,  and  called  the  name 
of  the  city,  after  the  name  of  his  son,  Enoch.  And  unto  Enoch  was 
born  Irad:  and  Irad  begat  Mehujael;  and  Mehujael  begat  Methu- 
shael;  and  Methushael  begat  Lamech.  And  Lamech  took  unto  him 
two  wives :  the  name  of  the  one  was  Adah,  and  the  name  of  the  other 
Zillah.  And  Adah  bare  Jabal :  he  was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in 
tents  and  have  cattle.  And  his  brother's  name  was  Jubal:  he  was  the 
father  of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp  and  pipe.  And  Zillah,  she  also 
bare  Tubalcain,  the  forger  of  every  cutting  instrument  of  brass  and  iron : 
and  the  sister  of  Tubalcain  was  Naamah.  And  Lamech  said  unto  his 
wives:  — 

Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice ; 

Ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  unto  my  speech : 

1  Genesis  5 1-». 


PRIESTLY  IDEALS  IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY          297 

For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 
And  a  young  man  for  bruising  me : 
If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven-fold, 
Truly  Lamech  seventy  and  seven-fold. 

And  Adam  knew  his  wife  again ;  and  she  bare  a  son,  and  called  his  name 
Seth:  For,  said  she,  God  hath  appointed  me  another  seed  instead  of 
Abel;  for  Cain  slew  him.  And  to  Seth,  to  him  also  there  was  born  a 
son;  and  he  called  his  name  Enosh.  Then  began  men  to  call  upon  the 
name  of  Jehovah.1 

The  one  belongs  to  the  late  priestly  narrative,  the  other,  to  the 
early  story  narrative. 

In  chapters  6-9,  the  flood  story,  the  two  documents  are  closely 
interwoven.  When  they  are  separated,  each  gives  a  fairly  com- 
plete and  self-consistent  story.  In  the  priestly  account,  the  time 
is  given  in  exact  terms,  year,  month,  day,  following  the  practice 
which  appears  in  the  prophets  of  the  exile  and  restoration ;  in  the 
other,  the  time  is  given  in  the  round  numbers  seven  and  forty.2 
The  late  account  leads  up  to  the  covenant  with  Noah,  which 
plainly  refers  back  to  the  account  of  creation,  from  the  same 
document. 

And  God  blessed  Noah  and  his  sons,  and  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful, 
and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth.  And  the  fear  of  you  and  the 
dread  of  you  shall  be  upon  every  beast  of  the  earth,  and  upon  every  bird 
of  the  heavens ;  with  all  wherewith  the  ground  teemeth,  and  all  the  fishes 
of  the  sea,  into  your  hand  are  they  delivered.  Every  moving  thing  that 
liveth  shall  be  food  for  you ;  as  the  green  herb  have  I  given  you  all.  But 
flesh  with  the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood  thereof,  shall  ye  not  eat. 
And  surely  your  blood,  the  blood  of  your  lives,  will  I  require;  at  the 
hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it :  and  at  the  hand  of  man,  even  at  the 
hand  of  every  man's  brother,  will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  Whoso 
sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed :  for  in  the  image  of 
God  made  he  man.  And  you,  be  ye  fruitful,  and  multiply ;  bring  forth 
abundantly  in  the  earth,  and  multiply  therein.8 

Chapter  10  begins  "Now  these  are  the  generations  of,"  and  again 
there  is  a  barren  genealogy  for  a  few  verses  (1-7)  which  is  resumed 
in  20  and  22-32.  This  is  continued  in  11 10fl  and  carries  the  race 
on  to  Abram. 

1  Genesis  4  N*-28.          *  See  Chapter  V,  pp.  72-74.          »  Genesis  9  M. 


298  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

These  are  the  generations  of  Shem.  Shem  was  a  hundred  years  old, 
and  begat  Arpachshad  two  years  after  the  flood :  and  Shem  lived  after 
he  begat  Arpachshad  five  hundred  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

And  Arpachshad  lived  five  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  Shelah :  and 
Arpachshad  lived  after  he  begat  Shelah  four  hundred  and  three  years, 
and  begat  sons  and  daughters.  .  .  . 

And  Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and  begat  Abram,  Nahor,  and  Haran. 

Now  these  are  the  generations  of  Terah.  Terah  begat  Abram,  Nahor, 
and  Haran ;  and  Haran  begat  Lot.1 

Thus  for  pre-Abramic  times, '  the  late  priests'  history  had  the 
majestic  story  of  creation  and  a  systematic  narrative  of  the  flood. 
These  were  connected  by  a  genealogy  that  reached  from  Adam  to 
Noah,  ten  generations,  and  continued  from  Noah  to  Abram,  ten 
generations ;  it  also  carried  the  side  lines  out  for  a  few  generations. 
The  first  story  of  the  history  culminated  in  the  Sabbath,  the 
second,  in  the  covenant  of  meat  eating  with  the  proscription  of 
blood. 

Both  of  the  narratives  of  pre-Abramic  times  existed  in  the 
Assyro-Babylonian  literature,  in  far  earlier  and  grossly  poly- 
theistic forms.  The  Babylonian  flood  story  has  already  been 
read  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  early  prophetic  history.2  In 
the  creation  stories  the  closer  parallelism  is  between  the  priestly 
account  and  the  Babylonian  story.  A  few  lines  from  the  latter 
will  illustrate  some  resemblances  with  the  Biblical  account  and  em- 
phasize the  striking  character  of  the  differences.  Bel-Marduk, 
champion  of  the  forces  of  light  and  order,  has  overcome  Tiamat, 
the  personification  of  darkness  and  chaos,  the  "deep"  (tehom) 
of  Genesis  1. 

And  the  lord  stood  upon  Tiamat's  hinder  parts, 

And  with  his  merciless  club  he  smashed  her  skull. 

He  cut  through  the  channels  of  her  blood, 

And  he  made  the  North  wind  bear  it  away  into  secret  places. 

His  fathers  beheld,  and  they  rejoiced  and  were  glad; 

Presents  and  gifts  they  brought  unto  him. 

Then  the  lord  rested,  gazing  upon  her  dead  body, 

While  he  divided  the  flesh  of  the    .  .  .  ,3  and  devised  a  cunning  plan. 

*  Genesis  11 »»-».  26-27.  2  see  Chapter  V,  pp.  80-84. 

*  Perhaps  "body." 


PRIESTLY  IDEALS   IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY  299 

He  split  her  up  like  a  flat  fish  into  two  halves ; 

One  half  of  her  he  stablished  as  a  covering  for  heaven. 

He  fixed  a  bolt,  he  stationed  a  watchman, 

And  bade  them  not  to  let  her  waters  come  forth. 

He  passed  through  the  heavens,  he  surveyed  the  regions  (thereof), 


He  (i.e.  Marduk)  made  the  stations  for  the  great  gods ; 
The  stars  their  images,  as  the  stars  of  the  Zodiac,  he  fixed. 
He  ordained  the  year  and  into  sections  he  divided  it ; 
For  the  twelve  months  he  fixed  three  stars. 
After  he  had  [  .  .  .  ]  the  days  of  the  year  [  .  .  .  ]  images, 
He  founded  the  station  of  Nibir l  to  determine  their  bounds ; 
That  none  might  err  or  go  astray.2 

In  Genesis  12-16,  only  a  few  verses  can  be  identified  as  belong- 
ing to  the  late  priestly  document.3  They  serve  to  make  the 
briefest  possible  connections  between  that  which  has  preceded  and 
the  account  of  the  circumcision-covenant  and  the  promise  of  the 
birth  of  Isaac  which  fill  chapter  17.  The  birth  of  Isaac  occupies 
three  or  four  verses  near  the  beginning  of  chapter  2 1,4  but  the  story 
of  Abraham's  purchase  of  a  burial-place  for  Sarah  is  the  next 
considerable  narrative.5  This  is  a  more  living  story  than  is  usually 
found  in  the  priestly  history,  although  in  comparison  with  the 
movement  of  the  earlier  stories  in  the  prophetic  documents  it 
appears  a  little  too  prolonged  and  repetitious.6  The  death  and 
burial  of  Abraham  and  the  generations  of  Ishmael  made  up  the 
next  section  of  this  document.7 

1  I.e.  Jupiter. 

1  Translation  from  King,  The  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  Vol.  I,  pp.  75-79. 

3  n  3i-32>  12  4b-fi,  13  ••  llb,  16 la-  »•  «-16.  *  Verses  2b-5. 

6  Chapter  23. 

8  The  conventional  mode  of  bargaining  depicted,  persists  to-day 
among  the  Arabs  wherever  found.  The  Spectator  described  in  The 
Outlook,  a  few  years  ago,  an  experience  in  an  Arabic  restaurant  in  New 
York  City,  that  reproduced  almost  the  words  of  Ephron.  The  restaurant 
keeper  at  first  protested  that  he  could  not  accept  any  money  from  his 
guest,  and,  when  pressed,  asked,  "What  is  a  luncheon  worth  eighty  cents 
between  me  and  thee?"  And  The  Spectator  hearkened  to  the  modern 
Ephron  and  gave  him  the  silver  which  he  had  named. 

7  25  7-lia,  12-17^ 


300  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  material  from  the  creation  to  the  death  of  Abraham  may 
suffice  to  illustrate  the  general  style  and  interest  of  the  late  priestly 
history.  It  appears  as  made  up  of  genealogical  framework  that 
included  narratives  where  something  of  legalistic  interest  was 
presented  —  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  the  covenants  with 
Noah  and  Abraham,  the  securing  of  a  legal  tenure  in  Canaan. 
It  is  an  institutional  history  with  little  interest  in  anything  else. 
In  marked  contrast  was  the  garrulous  interest  of  the  early  Judean 
document  in  everything  human.  Names  and  customs,  joys  and 
sorrows  of  individuals,  sin  and  its  growing  consequences,  these 
and  many  other  things  of  daily  life  and  experience  were  all  told 
in  charming,  simple  story.  That  history  was  in  the  strictest 
sense  literature;  this  is  not,  except  as  the  term  is  stretched  to 
include  all  the  significant  writings  of  a  nation. 

Throughout  the  remainder  of  the  patriarchal  age  the  tradi- 
tional history  contained  little  of  interest  to  this  document.  The 
journeying  and  family  of  Jacob  and  his  burial  in  Canaan  received 
some  attention,  but  the  dramatic  stories  of  Joseph  are  wholly  due 
to  the  earlier  Judean  and  Ephraimite  histories.  The  following  pe- 
riod, however,  demanded  greatest  attention ;  the  priestly  history 
had  its  own  narrative  of  the  call  of  Moses,  the  plagues,  and  the 
crossing  of  the  Red  Sea,  while  the  elaborate  details  concerning 
the  tabernacle  and  the  mathematical  arrangement  of  the  camp,  in 
Exodus  and  Numbers,  all  come  from  the  late  historians  who 
conceived  of  the  most  developed  ritualistic  arrangements  as  insti- 
tuted by  Moses.  The  earlier  histories  give  a  very  different  pic- 
ture of  the  exodus  and  wilderness  period;  they  are  in  general 
agreement  with  the  pre-exilic  prophets  who  regard  the  wilderness 
age  as  one  of  great  simplicity  in  religious  forms.1 

The  allotment  of  the  land  to  the  various  tribes  was  described 
with  great  detail  in  the  priestly  history;  this  now  constitutes 
the  greater  part  of  the  latter  half  of  Joshua.  It  represents  a 
very  late  conception,  assigning  to  the  tribes  land  that  never  be- 
longed to  Israel  until  after  David's  conquests.  Such,  in  brief 
outline,  was  the  idealized  national  history  composed  in  Babylonia 
after  the  exile,  the  first  great  product  of  a  new  school  of  historical 
writing. 

1  Amos  5 26,  Jeremiah  7 **. 


PRIESTLY   IDEALS  IN  LAW  AND  HISTORY         301 

The  precise  date  of  the  great,  new,  historico-legal  document  in 
relation  to  the  work  of  Nehemiah  is  difficult  to  determine.  It 
certainly  was  unknown  in  Palestine  when  Nehemiah  arrived  there 
in  444  B.C.  Whether  the  law  was  promulgated  by  Ezra  during 
Nehemiah's  governorship  is  very  doubtful.  It  was  so  conceived 
by  the  later  compiler  who  inserted  an  account  of  this  between  the 
sections  of  Nehemiah's  diary;  but  it  is  at  least  equally  probable 
that  the  priestly  history  and  law  was  not  brought  to  Jerusalem 
until  a  few  years  later  than  Nehemiah's  time.  It  is  safe  to  say 
simply  that  not  far  from  the  year  400  B.C.,  Jerusalem  was  in 
possession  of  the  priestly  history  and  law  combined  in  one  docu- 
ment. 

Then  there  existed  two  works  on  the  history  of  antiquity,  of 
which  one  contained,  as  its  centre  and  standard,  the  law  book 
Deuteronomy,  and  the  other,  the  law  book  Leviticus.  This 
condition  could  not  last  long.  Soon  the  two  histories  must  be 
worked  into  a  harmony ;  this  had  been  done  with  the  two  earlier 
histories,  not  long  after  the  fall  of  Northern  Israel,  and  with  the 
chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  during 
the  exile ;  this  would  be  done  later  with  Matthew's  collection  of 
Christ's  sayings  and  Mark's  story  of  his  deeds ;  this  would  be  done 
in  the  second  century  A.D.  in  Tatian's  Diatessaron,  a  compilation 
of  all  four  gospels  into  a  connected  story  of  Christ ;  this  would  be 
done,  as  we  have  seen,  by  successive  compilers  with  the  early 
narratives  of  English  history. 

The  priestly  history  and  law  represented  the  prevalent  spirit 
of  400  B.C.  far  more  closely  than  the  prophetico-priestly  history 
and  law  of  the  sixth  century  did,  although  the  earlier  was  by  no 
means  to  be  discarded.  The  natural  consequence  was  a  compila- 
tion which  took  the  priestly  history  as  its  basis  and  framework 
and  fitted  the  fuller,  earlier  history  into  this  scheme.  The  com- 
posite work  forms  our  books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Num- 
bers, and  Joshua,  often  denominated,  because  of  their  unity  of 
composition,  the  Hexateuch.  The  entire  work  was  given  its 
final  stamp  by  the  late  priestly  history  that  made  the  groundwork. 

Only  when  the  successive  strata  of  the  narrative  and  law  are 
distinguished,  is  it  possible  to  understand  the  development  of  the 
law,  literature,  and  religion  of  Israel.  In  this  great  book  is  the 


302  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

stratum  of  the  simple,  childlike  apprehension  of  God  and  life  in 
the  age  of  inexperience  and  boundless  hope ;  in  it  is  the  interpre- 
tation that  grew  out  of  the  vital  preaching  of  the  great  prophets, 
first  formulated  in  Deuteronomy  and  applied  in  the  humility 
of  defeat  and  exile ;  in  it  finally  was  the  interpretation  of  life  given 
by  those  who  sought  to  make  the  chastened  nation  fit  for  the 
blessing  of  a  holy  God  through  perfect  devotion  in  worship. 

Estimating  the  documents  from  the  point  of  view  of  their 
religious  spirit,  the  earliest  are  styled  prophetic,  because  they 
interpret  life  in  terms  of  a  moral  God  and  moral  forces.  The  next 
are  called  prophetico-priestly  or  prophetico-legalistic,  since  they 
aim  to  interpret  prophetic  principles  into  laws.  The  third  group 
is  the  priestly  or  legalistic,  in  which  the  great  prophetic  principles 
have  disappeared  under  the  sway  of  priesthood.  The  two  great 
elements  of  religion  which  persist  and  struggle  to-day  in  the  Jewish 
church  and  the  Christian,  the  moral  and  the  institutional,  are 
remarkably  combined  in  the  Hexateuch.  This  composite  work 
grew  out  of  centuries  of  life  and  the  most  varied  experiences ;  it 
is  not  strange  that  it  fits  into  the  varied  needs  of  multitudes  of 
individuals,  of  hundreds  of  generations. 

At  the  close  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  we  at  last  have  the  books 
of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy,  and 
Joshua  in  their  final  form.  Forgetting  for  the  moment  the  suc- 
cessive strata  which  tell  the  story  of  their  growth,  one  may 
look  upon  them  as  a  finished  series  of  books  and  observe  their 
general  plan  and  scope:  They  form  a  remarkably  clear,  connected, 
and  orderly  group  of  narratives.  The  first  eleven  chapters  of 
Genesis  contain  traditions  of  the  beginnings  of  the  human  race; 
the  view  narrows  from  the  race  as  a  whole  to  the  Semites,  and  then 
to  the  Hebraic  branch  of  this  race.  The  remainder  of  the  book 
has  the  story  of  the  beginnings  of  the  chosen  people.  It  opens 
with  the  separation  of  the  Hebrew  ancestors  from  their  kindred  in 
Mesopotamia,  indicates  their  kinship  with  Edom,  Moab,  Ammon, 
and  certain  desert  tribes,  and  includes  the  first  sojourn  in  Palestine 
and  the  migration  to  Egypt.  Exodus  begins  with  the  rapid 
increase  of  Jacob's  descendants  in  Egypt  and  the  attempts  made 
to  repress  them.  It  carries  the  story  through  the  deliverance 
from  Egypt,  the  journey  to  Sinai,  and  the  principal  events  at  Sinai, 


PRIESTLY   IDEALS  IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY          303 

ending  with  the  completion  of  the  tabernacle.  Leviticus  is  in- 
cluded at  this  point  as  made  up  of  laws  given  to  Moses  at  Sinai. 
Numbers  opens  with  Israel  still  at  the  foot  of  the  mount  of  revela- 
tion, and  includes  the  larger  part  of  the  wilderness  life,  bringing 
the  narrative  forward  to  the  plains  east  of  the  Jordan,  where  a 
portion  of  Israel  settles  permanently.  Deuteronomy  is  in  the 
form  of  addresses  delivered  by  Moses  in  the  east-Jordan  region 
and  closes  with  the  death  of  the  great  leader.  Joshua  takes  up 
the  history  where  it  is  left  with  the  death  of  Moses  and  gives  an 
account  of  the  conquest  of  Palestine  and  its  ideal  allotment  to  the 
tribes.  The  farewell  addresses  of  Joshua,  his  death  and  burial 
in  the  promised  land,  and  the  burial  of  the  bones  of  Joseph  brought 
up  from  Egypt,  close  this  unique  library  of  ancient,  historical 
tradition. 

The  series  of  histories  made  up  of  Judges,  Samuel,  and  Kings 
had  been  completed  a  century  and  a  half  earlier  than  the  final 
composition  of  the  Hexateuch 1  under  the  influence  of  the  reign 
of  Deuteronomy,  and  it  was  never  compiled  with  any  priestly 
history.  Judges  opens  with  a  summary  of  the  initial  conquest  of 
the  land  (1  x-2 5)  and  then  takes  up  the  struggles  by  which  Israel 
made  good  her  claims.  Samuel  begins  near  the  close  of  the  period 
of  the  Judges  and,  with  Kings,  gives  the  entire  history  of  the 
monarchy  from  its  rise  to  the  Babylonian  exile.  The  two  series 
of  histories  show  a  slight  overlapping  at  the  opening  of  Judges, 
but,  viewed  together,  they  give  a  marvellously  ordered  narrative 
covering  five  centuries  of  national  history  and  reaching  back  from 
these  historical  times  to  the  more  and  more  uncertain  eras  of 
tradition  and  legend. 

As  time  passed,  the  development  of  priestly  ideals  and  usages 
made  the  composition  of  a  new  history  of  Judah  inevitable.  The 
fourth  century  probably  produced  a  "midrash"  of  the  book  of  the 
kings  of  Israel  and  Judah.2  This  would  be  an  expansion  and 
modification  of  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings  bringing  their 
narrative  more  into  accord  with  the  ideas  of  the  later  century. 
A  writer,  who  worked  not  earlier  than  about  300  B.C.,  made  use 
of  this  and  of  the  earlier  histories  that  have  been  preserved  in 

1  See  Chapter  XVIII. 

1 2  Chronicles  24  " ;   translated  "commentary." 


304  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

composing  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  Judah  which  forms  1  and 
2  Chronicles. 

In  the  study  of  Israel's  methods  of  historical  composition  the 
books  of  Chronicles  are  of  great  significance  in  showing  both  how 
exactly  the  historiographer  embodied  extracts  from  his  sources 
and  how  freely  he  expanded  or  even  corrected  these  where  they 
failed  to  express  his  conceptions  of  the  earlier  ages. 

Chronicles  opens  with  nine  chapters  of  genealogies  extending 
from  Adam  down  to  the  time  of  the  writer.  Following  these,  the 
history  is  begun  at  the  death  of  Saul  and  extended  to  the  exile. 
The  affairs  of  Northern  Israel  are  not  included  except  as  they 
concern  Judah ;  this  fact,  together  with  the  great  emphasis  upon 
everything  connected  with  the  temple,  indicates  the  writer's 
range  of  interest.  Whether  they  are  taken  directly  from  Samuel 
and  Kings  or  through  the  medium  of  a  midrash,  many  passages  are 
in  almost  verbatim  agreement  with  the  earlier  histories;  others 
are  condensed.  Wherever  the  temple  comes  into  the  history,  so 
much  additional  material  is  given  that  the  possibility  of  access  to 
some  special  temple  history  is  suggested. 

The  earlier  history  had  recognized  that  even  the  better  kings  of 
Judah,  with  the  exception  of  Hezekiah  and  Josiah,  made  no  attempt 
to  do  away  with  the  high  places.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the 
Chronicler's  age,  this  is  inconceivable,  and  he  states  that  these 
kings  removed  the  high  places,  although  the  books  of  Kings  state 
distinctly  that  they  did  not.1  To  him  it  is  inconceivable,  too, 
that  soldiers  should  have  been  permitted  to  enter  the  temple  in 
the  revolution  which  overthrew  Athaliah ;  he  therefore  substitutes 
the  bands  of  ministering  Levites. 

And  in  the  seventh  year  Jehoiada  And  in  the  seventh  year  Jehoiada 

strengthened  himself,  and  took  the  sent  and  fetched  the  captains  over 

captains  of  hundreds,  Azariah  the  hundreds  of  the  Carites  and  of  the 

son     of    Jeroham,    and    Ishmael  guard,  and  brought  them  to  him 

the  son  of  Jehohanan,  and  Azariah  into  the  house  of  Jehovah ;  and  he 

the  son  of  Obed,  and  Maaseiah  the  made  a  covenant  with  them,  and 

son  of  Adaiah,  and  Elishaphat  the  took  an  oath  of  them  in  the  house 

the  son  of   Zichri,  into    covenant  of  Jehovah,  and  showed  them  the 

with  him.    And  they  went  about  king's  son.    And  he   commanded 

1  See,  for  example,  1  Kings  22 4S  and  2  Chronicles  17 8. 


PRIESTLY   IDEALS   IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY 


305 


in  Judah,  and  gathered  the  Levites 
out  of  all  the  cities  of  Judah,  and 
the  heads  of  fathers'  houses  of 
Israel,  and  they  came  to  Jerusalem. 
And  all  the  assembly  made  a  cove- 
nant with  the  king  hi  the  house  of 
God.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Behold,  the  king's  son  shall  reign, 
as  Jehovah  hath  spoken  concerning 
the  sons  of  David.  This  is  the 
thing  that  ye  shall  do:  a  third 
part  of  you,  that  come  in  on  the 
sabbath,  of  the  priests  and  of  the 
Levites,  shall  be  porters  of  the 
thresholds;  and  a  third  part  shall 
be  at  the  king's  house ;  and  a  third 
part  at  the  gate  of  the  foundation : 
and  all  the  people  shall  be  in  the 
courts  of  the  house  of  Jehovah. 
But  let  none  come  into  the  house  of 
Jehovah,  save  the  priests,  and  they 
that  minister  of  the  Levites ;  they 
shall  come  in,  for  they  are  holy: 
but  all  the  people  shall  keep  the 
charge  of  Jehovah.  And  the  Le- 
vites shall  compass  the  king  round 
about,  every  man  with  his  weapons 
in  his  hand ;  and  whosoever  cometh 
into  the  house,  let  him  be  slam: 
and  be  ye  with  the  king  when  he 
cometh  in,  and  when  he  goeth  out. 
So  the  Levites  and  all  Judah  did 
according  to  all  that  Jehoiada  the 
priest  commanded:  and  they  took 
every  man  his  men,  those  that  were 
to  come  in  on  the  sabbath,  with 
those  that  were  to  go  out  on  the 
sabbath;  for  Jehoiada  the  priest 
dismissed  not  the  courses.  And 
Jehoiada  the  priest  delivered  to  the 
captains  of  hundreds  the  spears, 


them,  saying,  This  is  the  thing 
that  ye  shall  do:  a  third  part  of 
you,  that  come  hi  on  the  sabbath, 
shall  be  keepers  of  the  watch  of  the 
king's  house;  and  a  third  part 
shall  be  at  the  gate  Sur;  and  a 
third  part  at  the  gate  behind  the 
guard :  so  shall  ye  keep  the  watch 
of  the  house,  and  be  a  barrier.  And 
the  two  companies  of  you,  even  all 
that  go  forth  on  the  sabbath,  shall 
keep  the  watch  of  the  house  of 
Jehovah  about  the  king.  And  ye 
shall  compass  the  king  round  about, 
every  man  with  his  weapons  hi  his 
hand;  and  he  that  cometh  within 
the  ranks,  let  him  be  slam:  and 
be  ye  with  the  long  when  he  goeth 
out,  and  when  he  cometh  in. 

And  the  captains  over  hundreds 
did  according  to  all  that  Jehoiada 
the  priest  commanded;  and  they 
took  every  man  his  men,  those  that 
were  to  come  hi  on  the  sabbath, 
with  those  that  were  to  go  out  on 
the  sabbath,  and  came  to  Jehoiada 
the  priest.  And  the  priest  de- 
livered to  the  captains  over  hun- 
dreds the  spears  and  shields  that 
had  been  king  David's,  which  were 
hi  the  house  of  Jehovah.  And  the 
guard  stood,  every  man  with  his 
weapons  in  his  hand,  from  the  right 
side  of  the  house  to  the  left  side  of 
the  house,  along  by  the  altar  and 
the  house,  by  the  king  round  about. 
Then  he  brought  out  the  king's 
son,  and  put  the  crown  upon  him, 
and  gave  him  the  testimony; 
and  they  made  him  king,  and 
anointed  him;  and  they  clapped 


306  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

and  bucklers,  and  shields,  that  had  their  hands,  and  said,  Long  live 
been  king  David's,  which  were  in  the  king.2 
the  house  of  God.  And  he  set  all 
the  people,  every  man  with  his 
weapon  in  his  hand,  from  the  right 
side  of  the  house  to  the  left  side  of 
the  house  along  by  the  altar  and  the 
house,  by  the  king  round  about. 
Then  they  brought  out  the  king's 
"son,  and  put  the  crown  upon  him, 
and  gave  him  the  testimony,  and 
made  him  king :  and  Jehoiada  and 
his  sons  anointed  him;  and  they 
said,  Long  live  the  king.1 

In  such  ways  the  late  priestly  writer  reveals  the  spirit  and  ideas 
of  the  age  which  followed  the  Nehemiah-Ezra  reforms. 

It  was  probably  the  same  writer  who  composed  the  books  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  Here  he  had  as  sources  Nehemiah's  own 
memoir,  an  Aramaic  document  from  which  he  embodied  brief 
extracts  without  translating  into  Hebrew,3  and  a  Hebrew  narra- 
tive concerning  Ezra.  This  material  he  arranged  to  tell  the 
story,  as  he  understood  it,  of  the  return  from  Babylon  to  Jerusa- 
lem, the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  the  work  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  In  the  composition  his  peculiar  point  of  view  is 
evident  again  and  again ;  he  cannot  conceive  that  the  despised 
people  who  remained  in  Judea  rebuilt  the  city  and  temple.  He 
pictures  th'is  as  the  work  of  a  great  company  returning  from 
Babylon  immediately  after  Cyrus's  conquest.  He  cannot  con- 
ceive, either,  that  the  layman  Nehemiah  instituted  the  reforms 
which  resulted  in  the  hierocratic  Judaism  of  his  day;  he  there- 
fore has  the  scribe  Ezra  precede  Nehemiah  to  Jerusalem  and  there 
carry  out  reforms  that  make  impossible  the  work  of  Nehemiah  as 
it  is  recorded  so  simply  and  naturally  in  his  own  diary.  He  has 
thus  left  knotty  problems  for  the  historian  of  Judaism ;  he  has, 
however,  preserved  the  priceless  narrative  from  the  memoir  of 
Nehemiah  and  also  material  of  some  historical  and  literary  value 
from  the  other  documents  named  above. 

1 2  Chronicles  23 !-".  2  2  Kings  11 4~12.  « Ezra  4 »-»,  5  8~6 15. 


PRIESTLY   IDEALS  IN   LAW  AND   HISTORY          307 

Had  any  one  soon  after  300  B.C.  ventured  to  compile  Samuel 
and  Kings  with  the  Chronicler's  work,  he  would  have  produced 
a  history  of  the  monarchy  representing  the  same  three  stages  that 
are  found  hi  the  Hexateuch.  Since  this  was  never  done,  we  have 
preserved  separately  a  history  of  the  monarchy  from  its  rise  to 
its  downfall  hi  Samuel-Kings  and  a  partly  parallel  history  of 
Judea  from  David  to  Ezra  hi  Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. 

Looking  back  from  300  to  the  tenth  century  B.C.,  the  historical 
writing  of  ancient  Israel  is  seen  divided  quite  distinctly  into  three 
great  eras.  The  first  extends  from  the  beginning  of  connected 
prose  writing,  under  the  early  monarchy,  to  a  time  shortly  before 
the  publication  of  Deuteronomy,  approximately  from  950  to  650 
B.C.  So  far  as  extant  materials  show,  it  began  hi  Southern  Israel 
with  the  early  Saul  and  David  stories  and  later  gathered  into  a 
connected  narrative  all  available  materials  concerning  earlier 
generations  until  Southern  Israel  had  its  great  story  of  humanity 
from  Adam  to  the  monarchy.  In  Northern  Israel,  the  first  era 
began  about  one  hundred  years  later,  with  nearly  contemporaneous 
history,  and  extended  the  story  back  to  Abraham.  In  its  final 
stage,  this  great  era  compiled  a  history  from  the  northern  and 
southern  documents.  From  this  age  come  nearly  all  the  charming 
stories  of  deep  human  interest  which  give  supreme  literary  value  to 
such  books  as  Genesis,  Exodus,  Judges,  and  Samuel.  Then-  moral 
ideals  are  crude,  their  theology  is  primitive,  but  they  are  instinct 
with  a  childlike  consciousness  of  God  and  a  wholesome  moral  sense. 

The  second  great  era  of  historical  writing  was  the  outgrowth  of 
the  Deuteronomic  reform  and  the  exile.  It  resulted  hi  slight 
editorial  additions  to  some  portions  of  the  earlier  histories  and  in 
drastic  reediting  of  other  parts,  always  from  the  point  of  view  of 
a  definite  philosophy  of  history.  This  era  produced,  also,  two  new 
historical  works,  our  books  of  Judges  and  Kings.  Where  the 
editors  of  this  school  touched  heavily,  either  hi  interpretation  of 
old  narratives  or  in  editing  new  compilations,  literary  charm 
languished.  Since,  however,  these  men  wrote  with  deepest  re- 
ligious purpose,  interpreting  history  out  of  experience,  there  is 
a  certain  solemn  earnestness  even  hi  their  monotonous  repetition 
of  phrase  that  gives  dignity  and  almost  eloquence,  contributing 
its  characteristic  elements  to  the  Old  Testament  narrative  style. 


308  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

The  third  great  era  of  historical  writing  is  still  further  removed 
from  the  aesthetic  charm  of  the  early  narratives  that  pictured 
human  life  in  its  simple,  universal  elements  and  interests.  The 
Deuteronomists  saw  the  national  life  whole,  as  a  great  drama 
working  itself  out  under  the  fixed  and  formulated  will  of  God, 
almost  as  inexorable  as  the  Fate  of  the  Greek  tragedians;  the 
late  priestly  historians  saw  the  same  national  history  schematized 
as  the  mechanical  development  of  a  system  of  ordinances  and  in- 
stitutions. In  the  working  out  of  the  latter  scheme,  not  only  has 
all  human  motive  and  agency  disappeared  and  the  consciousness 
of  the  immediate  presence  of  God  in  the  daily  life  of  the  individual 
vanished,  but  the  tremendous  moral  convictions  of  the  Deuter- 
onomic  editors  have  also  gone.  History  has  become  little  more 
than  the  orderly  development  of  the  ceremonial  practices  and  in- 
stitutions of  Israel.  Repetition  of  formulas,  characteristic  of  the 
writing  of  the  preceding  age,  has  now  gone  to  absolute  extreme  ; 
yet,  as  has  been  said,  this  very  repetition  has  at  times  an  almost 
poetic  effect,  or  at  least  gives  a  liturgical  rhythm,  that  adds  its 
distinctive  element  to  the  composite  feeling  of  the  Biblical  style. 

In  each  one  of  the  narrative  writings  of  Israel,  there  is  harmony 
between  form  and  thought,  the  result,  in  the  final  analysis,  of 
sincerity.  Each  type  of  writing  is  the  true  expression  of  the  life 
of  the  age  from  which  it  emanates,  for  there  is  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment narrative  no  "fine  writing"  in  which  the  form  obtrudes 
itself.  The  writers  were  not  seeking  to  produce  literature;  but 
to  express  life  as  it  was  in  them,  demanding  to  be  heard  and  so, 
even  schematized,  institutional  history  rose  at  times  into  the  realm 
of  literature. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

STORY,  ORACLE,  AND  SONG  FROM  THE  CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN 

RULE 

(432  to  332  B.C.) 

IN  tracing  the  development  of  priestly  ideals  in  law  and  history 
through  the  composition  of  Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah,  we  were 
brought  down  to  a  time  after  the  close  of  Persian  rule.  We  kept 
our  eyes  fixed,  however,  upon  one  rather  narrow  path,  and  shall 
err  if  we  think  of  the  time  of  priestly  reform  and  the  generations 
immediately  following  as  wholly  occupied  with  the  matters  of 
interest  to  the  lawyers  and  priestly  historians.  It  was  an  age 
of  story  and  song,  as  well  as  one  of  ritual  law  and  history. 

The  book  of  Ruth,  in  its  present  form,  was  issued  as  a  protest 
against  the  cruel  enforcement  of  separation,  demanded  by  Nehe- 
miah  and  Ezra.  When  Nehemiah  chased  from  him  the  grandson 
of  the  high  priest  who  had  married  the  daughter  of  Sanballat,  tlie 
young  priest  may  have  found  it  no  great  hardship  to  remain  loyal 
to  his  foreign  wife  and  assume  charge  of  the  rival  temple  which  his 
wealthy  and  powerful  father-in-law  was  able  to  construct  for  him 
on  Mt.  Gerizim ;  but,  hi  many  cases,  there  must  have  been  cruel 
separation  or  bitter  expatriation. 

Ruth  is  the  story  of  a  day  when  the  relations  of  Israel  with  her 
neighbors  were  normal  and  free.  At  that  ancient  time,  a  man  of 
Bethlehem-judah  might  find  refuge,  with  all  his  family,  across 
the  Jordan,  among  the  broad  fields  of  Moab,  when  famine  visited 
the  scanty  soil  of  Judah's  rocky  hills.  There  the  man's  sons 
might  marry  women  of  Moab,  and  the  wives  prove  loving 
daughters  to  the  widowed  mother,  one  of  them  so  faithful  in  her 
devoted  love  that  she  gladly  faced  separation  from  her  own  people, 
with  poverty  and  widowhood,  rather  than  leave  her  Judean 
mother-in-law.  In  the  end  the  Moabitess  found  a  true  husband 
hi  Judea,  and  her  son's  grandson  became  Israel's  greatest  king. 

309 


310  THE  LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

The  scene  is  in  the  days  of  the  judges,  but  these  were  in  the  dis- 
tant past  when  the  story  was  written;  it  begins  "And  it  came  to 
pass  in  days  when  the  judges  judged,"  and,  when  the  writer  comes 
to  describe  a  legal  transaction,  he  has  to  speak  as  an  antiquarian 
explaining  the  incident  in  his  narrative. 

Now  this  was  the  custom  in  former  time  in  Israel  concerning  redeeming 
and  concerning  exchanging,  to  confirm  all  things:  a  man  drew  off  his 
shoe,  and  gave  it  to  his  neighbor ;  and  this  was  the  manner  of  attestation 
in  Israel.  So  the  near  kinsman  said  unto  Boaz,  Buy  it  for  thyself.  And 
he  drew  off  his  shoe.1 

In  the  east,  practices  scarcely  change  from  millennium  to  millen- 
nium, yet  taking  off  and  handing  the  shoe  as  seal  of  a  contract 
was  evidently  a  forgotten  custom.  Without  this  direct  internal 
evidence,  a  comparison  of  the  whole  tone  of  the  story  with  the 
fierce  and  brutal  conditions  prevalent  in  the  time  of  the  judges 
would  indicate  that  those  days  were  in  the  far  past. 

The  story  suggests  in  its  literary  quality,  as  well  as  hi  its  place 
of  origin,  the  early  Judean  prose ;  it  may  have  been  treasured  in 
Bethlehem-judah  along  with  the  stories  of  Bethlehemites  now 
forming  the  appendix  of  Judges.2  In  its  present  form,  however, 
it  shows  everywhere  the  influence  of  an  idealizing  process  of  which 
those  "grim  tales"  are  wholly  innocent;  "in  Ruth  the  principal 
characters  are  amiable,  God-fearing,  courteous,  unassuming." 3 
With  Nehemiah's  diary  and,  from  a  later  period,  Maccabees, 
Ruth  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  fact  that  the  development  of 
the  mechanical,  priestly  type  of  narrative  writing  did  not  mean 
the  extinction  of  Israel's  gifts  for  story-telling.  Whatever  nucleus 
of  the  story  may  have  come  down  from  the  distant  past,  we  count 
the  present  book  of  Ruth  a  product  of  the  age  of  priestly  reform, 
albeit  the  work  of  one  who  was  not  in  accord  with  the  extreme 
measures  of  that  reform.  Without  pointing  the  moral,  the 
development  of  the  tale  shows  where  the  writer's  sympathies  lie 
in  the  matter  of  foreign  marriages  and  subtly  draws  the  reader's 
sympathies,  too.  —  Had  not  the  noble  Boaz  married  the  altogether 
lovely  Ruth,  the  story  would  have  been  most  disappointing. 

1  4  7~8.  2  See  Kent,  Beginnings  of  Hebrew  History,  pp.  27-28. 

3  Driver,  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament  (1910),  p.  456. 


CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN  RULE  311 

The  unhappy  controversy,  out  of  which  the  book  of  Ruth  sprang, 
is  long  past,  but  the  book  is  ever  recognized  as  "one  of  the  best 
told  and  most  beautiful  stories  in  all  literature."  l  In  the  present 
time,  when  the  writing  of  the  short  story  has  become  almost  a 
distinct  profession,  with  a  technical  literature  discussing  its  science 
and  art,  we  find  most  of  the  tests  for  the  proper  structure  of  such 
stories  fully  met  by  the  book  of  Ruth.  The  short  story  is,  we  are 
told,  "  a  series  of  nicely  graded  scenes  or  stages  leading  to  a  climax." 
"The  conclusion  is  the  solving  of  all  problems,  the  termination  of 
the  narrative  itself,  and  the  artistic  severing  of  all  relations  between 
narrator  and  reader."  "Simplicity,  as  well  as  brevity,  contributes 
to  the  intensity  of  the  conclusion."  It  has  not  only  unity  of  plot, 
but  "unity  of  impression,  which  depends  upon  the  story's  tone."2 
These  dicta,  intended  as  general  principles,  might  have  been 
designed  as  descriptions  of  the  story  of  Ruth.  In  one  point  alone, 
this  short  story  may  perhaps  fail  to  conform  to  present  standards. 
The  story  is  not  clearly  limited  to  the  presentation  of  "a  turning 
point  in  the  life  of  a  single  character";  that  Naomi  is  the  real 
heroine  in  whose  "magnetic  personality"  is  found  "the  thread 
running  through  the  whole,  and  binding  the  parts  together  "  has 
been  maintained.3  Guy  de  Maupassant  and  others  of  his  craft 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  central  character  in  their  stories.  In 
this  early  story,  however,  the  attention  is  not  unpleasantly  dis- 
tracted between  Ruth  and  Naomi,  for  their  lives  and  hopes  are 
completely  identified.  Certainly  we  could  not  choose  which  we 
would  have  less  prominent  and  attractive. 

To  comment  upon  the  beauty  and  effectiveness  of  the  crucial 
scenes  in  Ruth  would  be  superfluous.  We  recall  them;  the  first 
is  the  occasion  when  Naomi  seeks  to  send  back  her  daughters-in- 
law,  still  young  enough  to  begin  a  new  lif e  among  then*  own  people, 
while  she,  bereft  of  husband  and  sons,  will  return  alone  and  ageing 
to  her  native  town.  The  writer  shows  us  Ruth  in  a  few  undying 
words  from  her  own  lips,  and  we  can  imagine  the  strength  and 

1  Jessup  and  Canby,  The  Book  of  the  Short  Story,  p.  4. 

2  The  Short  Story  —  Its  Principles  and  Striicture,  by  E.  M.  Albright, 
pp.  70,  77-78,  80,  84.     The  second  of  the  quotations  is  taken  by  Albright 
from  Barrett's  book  on  the  short  story. 

1  Moulton,  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible,  p.  235. 


312  THE   LITERATURE'  OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

fortitude  of  the  older  woman  who  would  have  deprived  herself 
of  such  a  daughter. 

And  she  said,  Behold,  thy  sister-in-law  is  gone  back  unto  her  people, 
and  unto  her  god :  return  thou  after  thy  sister-in-law.  And  Ruth  said, 
Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  and  to  return  from  following  after  thee  ;  for 
whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go ;  and  where  thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge ;  thy 
people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my  God ;  where  thou  diest,  will 
I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried :  Jehovah  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if 
aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me.1 

Ten  years  have  wrought  a  change  in  Naomi,  who  went  out  with 
her  husband  and  well-grown  sons.  When  she  returns  all  the  little 
town  is  excited,  but  they  scarcely  recognize  the  desolate  widow, 
and  they  say,  "Is  this  Naomi?"  She  answers,  "Call  me  not 
Naomi"  (delightf ulness) ;  "Call  me  Mara"  (bitterness):  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  ancient  doctrine,  she  interprets  her  bereave- 
ment as  the  testimony  of  God  against  her. 

The  story  moves  rapidly  from  significant  incident  to  significant 
incident.  In  the  next  scene,  we  meet  a  delightful  old  phrase  which 
the  revisers  have  left  unchanged ;  "and  her  hap  was  to  light  on  a 
part  of  the  field  belonging  to  Boaz  —  it  perfectly  expresses  the 
Hebrew,  too.  In  the  meeting  with  Boaz,  from  the  modern  point 
of  view,  the  conversation  is  stilted,  but  the  human  touch  of  the 
narrator  is  not  lacking  in  his  quiet  enumeration  of  the  courtesies 
of  Boaz  to  the  maiden,  as  he  reached  her  the  parched  corn  at  the 
meal-time  and  afterward  directed  his  young  men  to  let  fall  also 
some  of  the  handfuls  of  purpose  for  her. 

The  scene  of  Boaz  at  the  gate  of  the  little  city  is  a  vigorous  one. 
Here  it  is  a  case  of  sharp,  decisive  business  dealings,  and  all  is  in 
contrast  to  the  earlier  incidents  in  which  the  women  have  been 
prominent. 

The  story  is  an  idyl,  picturing  a  different  world  from  that  of 
the  realistic,  primitive  narratives  of  the  age  of  the  judges.  Society 
has  advanced  far  from  those  rude  days  before  such  a  story  as  that 
of  Ruth  could  even  be  conceived.  The  old  power  of  simple,  vivid, 
rapid  narration  is  not  dead,  though  much  labored  prose  has  been 
written  in  the  centuries  since  the  early  days  of  Israel's  literature. 


CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN  RULE  313 

Our  next  tale  was  regularly  copied  by  the  ancient  Jews  on  the 
scroll  with  the  eleven  short  books  of  prophecy;  but  it  is  not  a 
collection  of  visions,  oracles,  sermons,  like  the  others ;  it  is  instead 
a  story  about  a  prophet. 

There  was  one  Jonah,  son  of  Amittai,  who  lived  before  Amos  and 
predicted  the  success  of  Jeroboam  II.1  There  may  have  been  a 
tradition  that  this  prophet  went  on  some  sort  of  a  foreign  mission ; 
it  was  certainly  the  custom  of  Israel's  prophets  to  pronounce  doom 
on  foreign  nations,  though  they  usually  did  their  threatening  in 
their  own  land  and  for  the  warning  or  encouragement  of  their 
own  people.  As  the  story  proceeds  in  the  book  of  Jonah,  the 
prophet  was  told  to  go  and  announce  doom  in  the  great  capital  of 
mighty  and  terrible  Assyria,  and  he  fled  hi  another  direction,  to  the 
most  remote  region  he  could  think,  where  the  God  of  Israel  could 
not  reach  him.  According  to  Jonah's  later  defence  of  himself, 
it  was  not  because  he  feared  to  deliver  the  message,  but  because 
he  knew  God  to  be  so  compassionate  that  the  doom  would  not 
be  executed. 

Throughout  the  book,  the  heathen  appear  to  excellent  advan- 
tage; the  sailors,  though  in  dire  distress,  labor  manfully  before 
they  consent  to  put  overboard  the  self-confessed  cause  of  their 
danger,  and  it  is  with  an  earnest  prayer  to  Jonah's  God  that  they 
finally  cast  him  out.  At  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  who  at  last  goes 
perforce  on  his  mission,  all  Nineveh  speedily  repents  with  fasting 
and  works  meet  for  repentance.  Jonah  behaves  about  as  badly 
as  possible  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  story;  to  his  primary 
disobedience,  he  adds  absolutely  heartless  indignation  because  his 
prophecy  is  not  carried  out  against  the  now  repentant  city.  The 
object  that  he  desired  was  the  destruction  of  Nineveh,  or,  at  any 
rate,  the  vindication  of  himself  as  a  reliable  predictor.  To  serve 
a  compassionate  God  was  most  distasteful  to  him.  Not  only  is 
the  God  of  this  book  compassionate  upon  those  who  repent,  he 
is  patient  with  his  pettish  child  and  tries  to  teach  him  a  lesson  of 
mercy  by  the  gourd,  a  lesson  that  shall  help  him  to  understand 
why  God  pities  Nineveh. 

Such  are  the  contrasting  character  elements  of  the  story.  Is 
not  the  meaning  of  the  whole  clear,  if  we  give  it  a  moment's 

1 2  Kings  14  ». 


314  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT .  ISRAEL 

intelligent  thought?  The  God  of  Israel  cares  for  the  gentiles; 
he  does  not  take  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked ; x  he  would 
have  all  men  everywhere  to  repent  and  be  saved  —  but  this  last 
is  New  Testament  thought  and  language !  The  simple  fact  is 
that  this  little  book,  which  has  been  so  cruelly  despised  and  mis- 
understood, is  one  of  the  mountain  peaks  in  Old  Testament  liter- 
ature, gilded  with  the  dawn  of  a  new  day;  from  its  summit  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  God  in  whom  Jesus  Christ  believed  and 
whom  he  revealed  to  men.  Its  outlook  far  surpasses  that  of  Hosea, 
who  so  beautifully  taught  God's  unquenchable  love  for  Israel,  his 
own  wife,  his  own  child.  This  narrative  pictures  forgiving,  saving 
pity  upon  a  city  that  Nahum  well  represented  as  a  lion's  den  where 
the  lion  did  tear  in  pieces  enough  for  his  whelps  and  strangled  for 
his  lionesses,  and  filled  his  caves  with  prey  and  his  dens  with  ravin. 
One  prophet  saw  only  this  in  Nineveh,  and  his  figurative  words 
do  not  exaggerate  what  the  Assyrian  kings  calmly  tell  of  them- 
selves in  words  and  stone-carved  pictures.  The  author  of  the  book 
of  Jonah  saw  in  Nineveh  a  great  city  wherein  were  more  than 
six  score  thousand  persons  who  could  not  discern  between  their 
right  hand  and  their  left  hand,  on  whom  God  had  pity. 

Is  the  book  history  ?  is  it  an  ancient  tradition  developed  into  a 
story,  largely  imaginative  ?  is  it  a  parable  or  allegory  ?  All  three 
views  have  been  maintained;  one  may  hold  either  view  that  is 
found  convincing,  but  if  one  loses  sight  of  the  conception  of  God 
that  this  book  contains,  he  will  never  know  to  what  sublime  height 
the  Old  Testament  thought  rose.  This  is  a  culminating  point  in 
the  central  theme  of  Israel's  ancient  literature,  the  nature  of  God. 
In  this  book,  we  see  the  life  of  Israel  rising  triumphant  hi  its  hard- 
est battle,  its  battle  with  self.  National  pride  and  exclusiveness 
are  here  humbled  in  the  dust,  and  God  is  exalted  to  the  loftiest 
height  that  man  can  conceive. 

In  its  thought  of  God,  the  book  of  Jonah  rises  toward  the  level 
of  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  and  it  is  most  reasonably  inter- 
preted as  a  parable,  or  more  strictly  an  allegory.  Jonah  is  Israel 
in  the  allegory ;  one  prophet  had  called  his  people  a  blind  servant 
and  messenger.2  The  water  monster  is  Babylon  swallowing 
Israel;  to  picture  Israel's  enemies  as  a  water  monster  was  a 
1  Ezekiel  33  ».  2  Isaiah  42  ". 


CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN  RULE  315 

favorite  practice,1  and  already,  long  before  this  book  was  written, 
the  Babylonian  exile  had  been  figuratively  described  as  a  swallow- 
ing up  and  belching  forth. 

Nebuchadrezzar  the  king  of  Babylon  hath  devoured  me,  he  hath 
crushed  me,  he  hath  made  me  an  empty  vessel,  he  hath,  like  a  monster, 
swallowed  me  up,  he  hath  filled  his  maw  with  my  delicacies;  he  hath 
cast  me  out. 

And  I  will  execute  judgment  upon  Bel  hi  Babylon,  and  I  will  bring 
forth  out  of  his  mouth  that  which  he  hath  swallowed  up ;  and  the  nations 
shall  not  flow  any  more  unto  him :  yea,  the  wall  of  Babylon  shall  fall.2 

If  this  interpretation  be  correct,  if  Jonah  represents  the  narrow, 
cruel  attitude  of  Israel  toward  the  gentiles,  then  the  thought  of 
the  book  has  a  further  significance.  Like  Ruth  it  is  a  protest,  but 
not  directed  toward  any  one  manifestation  of  harsh  exclusiveness ; 
it  rather  strikes  at  the  very  centre  of  the  narrowness,  the  pride, 
the  cruel  heartlessness  of  the  religions  and  national  life  of  later 
Judaism. 

While  legalism  had  become  dominant  among  the  leaders  of  the 
nation  and  was  stifling  among  the  people  the  truths  for  which  the 
great  prophets  had  stood,  there  were  at  least  two  men,  —  we  may 
well  hope  that  there  were  others  who  shared  their  spirit,  —  but 
there  were  at  least  two  men  who  with  true  insight  and  great  literary 
gifts  were  telling  their  beautiful  stories  of  love  and  character  that 
rose  above  little,  national  boundaries,  and  of  a  God  who  was 
compassionate  father  over  all. 

We  place  these  books  in  a  period  that  used  to  be  included  in 
"four  centuries  of  silence"  and  hear  heralds  of  the  light  still 
calling  when  "the  night  of  legalism"  was  darkening.  These 
heralds,  the  writers  of  Ruth  and  Jonah,  promise  the  coming  age 
seen  centuries  later  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  which  there  shall  be 
neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  .  .  .  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond,  nor  free.3 

In  the  books  of  Ruth  and  Jonah,  we  listen  to  the  voices  of  those 
who  rose  spirit-free  out  of  the  tightening  bonds  of  ecclesiasticism. 
In  the  book  of  Joel  we  read  the  words  of  one  who  was  a  student  of 
the  ancient  prophets  and  sought  to  apply  their  thought  to  his  own 

1  Isaiah  26  »,  27 »,  51  •• 10.  J  Jeremiah  51  M-  44. 

*  Colossians  3  u. 


316  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

day;   he  was  one  who  lacked  their  free,  creative  spirit,  however, 
and  so  could  not  rise  above  the  narrow  standards  of  his  age. 

A  devastating  plague  of  locusts,  such  as  brings  stark  famine 
to  Palestine  from  time  to  time,  seemed  to  Joel  the  oft-threatened 
day  of  Jehovah,1  coming  as  destruction  from  the  Almighty,  a 
day  of  darkness  and  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  dark- 
ness,2 but  Joel  does  not  call  upon  the  people  to  amend  their  con- 
duct toward  one  another,  as  the  earlier  prophets  had  done;  he 
would  instead  have  them  exhibit  true  penitence  in  temple  prayer. 
When  the  immediate  calamity  passes,  and  the  former  and  latter 
rains  assure  the  wheat  and  wine,  Joel  recalls  that  Jehovah's  day 
has  been  promised  as  a  day  of  destruction  upon  Israel's  enemies 
following  calamities  to  herself,  and  his  imagination  paints  apoca- 
lyptic vision  in  flaming  colors. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward, 

That  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh ; 

And  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy, 

Your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams, 

Your  young  men  shall  see  visions : 

And  also  upon  the  servants  and  upon  the  handmaids 

In  those  days  will  I  pour  out  my  Spirit. 

And  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth : 

Blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke. 

The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness  and  the  moon  into  blood, 

Before  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  Jehovah  cometh.3 

I  will  gather  all  nations  and  will  bring  them  down  into  the  valley  of 

Jehoshaphat ; 
And  I  will  execute  judgment  upon  them  there  for  my  people  and  for  my 

heritage  Israel, 
Whom  they  have  scattered  among  the  nations;   and  they  have  parted  my 

land.4 

Multitudes,  multitudes,  in  the  valley  of  decision ! 

For  the  day  of  Jehovah  is  near  in  the  valley  of  decision. 

The  sun  and  the  moon  are  darkened, 

And  the  stars  withdraw  their  shining. 

And  Jehovah  will  roar  from  Zion, 

And  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem ; 

» Joel  1  u.  8  Ibid.  2 ».  » Ibid.  2  *"-".  « Ibid.  3 ». 


CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN  RULE  317 

And  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake ; 

But  Jehovah  will  be  a  refuge  unto  his  people, 

And  a  stronghold  to  the  children  of  Israel. 

So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  Jehovah  your  God, 

Dwelling  in  Zion  my  holy  mountain ; 

Then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy, 

And  there  shall  no  strangers  pass  through  her  any  more.1 

The  psalmody  of  ancient  Israel  is  not  an  exception  to  the  rule 
that  "sadness  prevails  in  the  lyric  and  the  lyrical  temperament"  ;2 
the  wretched  seventy-five  years  preceding  the  rebuilding  of  the 
walls  called  forth  more  songs  than  the  following  century  of 
comparative  peace  and  prosperity.  In  the  midst  of  the  grim 
and  sombre  writings  characterizing  the  literature  of  Israel  from 
the  eighth  century  onward,  it  is  a  relief  to  come  upon  some  songs 
of  thanksgiving  and  joy  that  express  the  spirit  of  those  who 
rejoiced  in  the  new  order.  Psalm  30,  if  it  refers  to  national 
restoration  and  not  merely  that  of  an  individual,  may  well  voice 
the  feeling  of  this  era. 

I  will  extol  thee,  O  Jehovah ;  for  thou  hast  raised  me  up, 
And  hast  not  made  my  foes  to  rejoice  over  me. 

0  Jehovah,  thou  hast  brought  up  my  soul  from  Sheol ; 

Thou  hast  kept  me  alive,  that  I  should  not  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Sing  praise  unto  Jehovah,  0  ye  saints  of  his, 

And  give  thanks  to  his  holy  memorial  name. 

Thou,  Jehovah,  of  thy  favor  hadst  made  my  mountain  to  stand  strong : 

Thou  didst  hide  thy  face ;  I  was  troubled. 

1  cried  to  thee,  0  Jehovah  ; 

And  unto  Jehovah  I  made  supplication : 

What  profit  is  there  in  my  blood,  when  I  go  down  to  the  pit  ? 

Shall  the  dust  praise  thee  ?  shall  it  declare  thy  truth  ? 

Hear,  0  Jehovah,  and  have  mercy  upon  me : 

Jehovah,  be  thou  my  helper. 

Thou  hast  turned  for  me  my  mourning  into  dancing ; 

Thou  hast  loosed  my  sackcloth,  and  girded  me  with  gladness  -, 

To  the  end  that  my  glory  may  sing  praise  to  thee,  and  not  be  silent. 

0  Jehovah  my  God,  I  will  give  thanks  unto  thee  for  ever.3 

1  Joel  3 13~17. 

1  Woodberry,  The  Appreciation  of  Literature,  p.  46. 

1  For  omission  of  verses  2,  5,  6,  see  Briggs,  Psalms,  in  loc. 


318  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

The  beautiful  evening  hymn  (Psalm  8)  shows  familiarity  with 
both  the  first  and  second  chapters  of  Genesis  and  evidently  comes 
from  a  time  after  the  completion  of  the  Hexateuch. 

O  Jehovah,  our  Lord, 

How  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth, 

Who  hast  set  thy  glory  upon  the  heavens ! 

Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou  established  strength, 

Because  of  thine  adversaries, 

That  thou  mightest  still  the  enemy' and  the  avenger. 

When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers, 

The  moon  and  the  stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained ; 

What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ? 

And  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him  ? 

For  thou  hast  made  him  but  little  lower  than  God, 

And  crownest  him  with  glory  and  honor. 

Thou  makest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  thy  hands ; 

Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet : 

All  sheep  and  oxen, 

Yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field, 

The  birds  of  the  heavens,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea, 

Whatsoever  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas. 

O  Jehovah,  our  Lord, 

How  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth ! 

Psalm  29,  the  song  of  the  thunder  storm,  affords  a  fine  example 
of  the  noble  conception  of  nature  as  instinct  with  God,  noted  in  a 
previous  chapter.  This  offers  an  attractive  modification  of  the 
ancient  picture  of  Jehovah's  approach  from  Sinai  in  the  thunder 
clouds.  The  storm  passes  over  the  Judean  hills  from  north  to 
south.  "  His  voice  is  heard  in  the  pealing  of  the  thunder  above 
the  storm  clouds;  the  storm  bursts,  it  shatters  the  cedars  and 
shakes  the  mountains  in  the  far  north ;  the  lightnings  flash ;  the 
deserts  to  the  far  south  with  their  affrighted  denizens  tremble; 
and  over  all  resounds  trie  chorus,  Glory."  "The  seven  times 
repeated  voice  of  the  Lord  is  like  successive  peals  of  thunder";1 
the  Hebrew  is  qol  Yahweh. 

Ascribe  unto  Jehovah,  0  ye  sons  of  the  mighty, 
Ascribe  unto  Jehovah  glory  and  strength. 

1  Kirkpatrick,  The  Book  of  Psalms,  p.  149. 


CLOSING  CENTURY  OF  PERSIAN  RULE  319 

Ascribe  unto  Jehovah  the  glory  due  unto  his  name ; 
Worship  Jehovah  in  holy  array. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  upon  the  waters : 

The  God  of  glory  thundereth, 

Even  Jehovah  upon  many  waters. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  powerful ; 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  full  of  majesty. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  breaketh  the  cedars : 

Yea,  Jehovah  breaketh  in  pieces  the  cedars  of  Lebanon. 

He  maketh  them  also  to  skip  like  a  calf  ; 

Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  a  young  wild-ox. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  cleaveth  the  flames  of  fire. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  shaketh  the  wilderness ; 

Jehovah  shaketh  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh. 

The  voice  of  Jehovah  maketh  the  hinds  to  calve, 

And  strippeth  the  forests  bare : 

And  in  his  temple  everything  saith,  Glory. 

Jehovah  sat  as  King  at  the  Flood ; 
Yea,  Jehovah  sitteth  as  King  for  ever. 
Jehovah  will  give  strength  unto  his  people ; 
Jehovah  will  bless  his  people  with  peace. 

The  happy  era  introduced  by  Nehemiah,  in  444,  was  ended  a 
century  later,  when  Artaxerxes  Ochus  cruelly  devastated  Jerusa- 
lem. The  experiences  of  the  last  dozen  years  of  the  Persian  age 
are  reflected  in  such  a  prayer  as  that  of  Psalm  102  1~11,  in  which 
the  poet  still  trusts  God,  though  he  has  taken  up  and  then  cast 
away. 

Hear  my  prayer,  0  Jehovah, 

And  let  my  cry  come  unto  thee. 

Hide  not  thy  face  from  me  in  the  day  of  my  distress : 

Incline  thine  ear  unto  me ; 

In  the  day  when  I  call  answer  me  speedily. 

For  my  days  consume  away  like  smoke, 

And  my  bones  are  burned  as  a  firebrand. 

My  heart  is  smitten  like  grass,  and  withered ; 

For  I  forget  to  eat  my  bread. 

By  reason  of  the  voice  of  my  groaning 

My  bones  cleave  to  my  flesh. 

I  am  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness ; 


320  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

I  am  become  as  an  owl  of  the  waste  places. 
I  watch,  and  am  become  like  a  sparrow 
That  is  alone  upon  the  housetop. 
Mine  enemies  reproach  me  all  the  day ; 
They  that  are  mad  against  me  do  curse  by  me. 
For  I  have  eaten  ashes  like  bread, 
And  mingled  my  drink  with  weeping, 
Because  of  thine  indignation  and  thy  wrath : 
For  thou  hast  taken  me  up,  and  cast  me  away. 
My  days  are  like  a  shadow  that  declineth ; 
And  I  am  withered  like  grass. 

Before  the  close  of  the  Persian  rule  the  little  hymnal,  Psalms 
3-41,  was  probably  compiled.  This  is  a  Yahwistic  collection  in 
which  the  proper  name  of  Israel's  God  occurs  nearly  twenty  times 
as  often  as  the  general  name  God  (Elohim).  Psalms  14  and 
40  13~:7  occur,  in  practically  duplicate  form,  in  the  second  book  of 
the  Psalter,  where  they  have  undergone  an  editing  characteristic 
of  that  book,  which  has  generally  substituted  God  for  Jehovah. 

All  the  psalms  in  the  collection  3  to  41  are  ascribed  by  their 
headings  to  David,  except  10  and  33 ;  of  these  10  is  properly  a 
part  of  9.  Back  of  this  book  lay  an  earlier  and  larger  collection 
of  hymns  which  went  by  the  name  of  David  and  which  was  later 
drawn  upon  largely  in  the  composition  of  the  second  book  of  the 
Psalter.  The  Davidic  prayer-book,1  containing  many  hymns  of 
the  Persian  age,  must  itself  have  been  compiled  not  long  before 
the  collection  3  to  41. 2 

1  See  Psalm  72  M. 

2  Whether  the  word  "to,"  translated  "of"  in  our  English  versions,  was 
intended  by  the  original  editor  who  attached  the  headings  of  the  Psalms 
ascribed  to  David  to  indicate  authorship,  or  only  the  name  of  the  well- 
known  collection  from  which  these  hymns  were  taken,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE    GREAT   MASTERPIECE,   JOB 

(Latter  Part  of  Fourth  Century  B.C.) 

THE  book  of  Job  is  one  of  that  group  of  five  or  six  world  poems 
that  stand  as  universal  expressions  of  the  human  spirit.  The 
Iliad,  the  Niebelungenlied,  the  Divina  Comedia,  belong  to  no  age  or 
nation,  yet  each  is  a  distinctive  product  of  its  own  time  and  of  the 
race  that  gave  it  birth;  in  any  other  age,  or  among  any  other 
peoples,  neither  could  have  arisen.  Similarly,  Job  is  a  character- 
istic product  of  post-exilic  Israel.  Without  the  work  of  the  earlier 
prophets,  the  Deuteronomic  era,  the  soul  agonies  of  Jeremiah,  the 
downfall  of  the  nation  and  its  interpretation  by  the  writers  of  the 
exile,  the  book  of  Job  could  not  have  been  written. 

Many  students  of  Hebrew  literature  count  this  poem  the 
immediate  outgrowth  of  the  exile;  its  relation  to  the  whole 
development  of  Israel's  literature  suggests  rather  its  composition 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  shortly  before  the  end 
of  the  Persian  rule,  or  soon  after  Alexander's  conquest.  The  pro- 
logue and  epilogue  (1-2,  42  7~17)  may  have  formed  an  earlier  prose 
story  of  Job,  and  some  portions  of  the  poem  are  best  interpreted 
as  later  accretions. 

The  prologue  moves  rapidly,  giving  a  series  of  distinct  pictures : 
the  ancient  sheik,  perfect,  upright,  and  prosperous ;  the  heavenly 
council ;  the  first  series  of  catastrophes.  In  the  description  of  the 
last,  one  feels  a  formal,  artificial  structure  somewhat  like  that  of 
the  late,  priestly  prose.  The  hero,  his  name,  his  home,  his  character, 
his  misfortunes,  are  all  introduced  in  the  one  chapter.  The  brief 
second  chapter  pictures :  a  second  heavenly  council ;  a  new  catas- 
trophe ;  Job  after  the  new  misfortune  has  fallen  upon  him ;  the 
arrival  of  the  three  friends  and  their  seven  days'  watch  with  Job. 

This  prologue  offers  a  curious  interpretation  of  human  suffering. 
It  presents  a  man  perfect,  upright,  scrupulous  in  his  piety ;  when 
T  321 


322  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

his  sons  have  had  their  birthday  feasts,  he  rises  early  and  performs 
sacrifices  for  them  all,  lest  they  have  sinned  in  some  way.  Jehovah 
himself  declares  that  there  is  none  like  him  in  all  the  earth,  perfect, 
upright,  fearing  God,  and  turning  away  from  evil.  Upon  this  one 
comes  loss  of  property,  loss  of  family,  and  loathsome  disease. 
The  old  stories  of  Israel  had  taught  that  it  was  sin  which  brought 
suffering  upon  humanity ;  the  prophets  had  developed  the  doctrine 
of  a  righteous  God  who  rewarded  virtue  and  punished  sin  in  the 
nation  and  the  individual ;  already  the  sages  had  formulated  this 
idea  into  many  a  proverb.  Here  is  a  new  conception !  Among 
the  superhuman  beings,  the  sons  of  God,  who  from  time  to  time 
present  themselves  before  Jehovah,  is  one  called  the  Satan,  "the 
Adversary." 1  The  same  word  occurs  in  1  Samuel  29 4  —  The 
princes  of  the  Philistines  are  afraid  that  David  will  be  an  adver- 
sary (satan).  The  word  is  first  met  as  applied  to  a  superhuman 
being  in  Zechariah  3 1,  where  the  high  priest  is  clothed  in  the  sins 
of  the  people  with  the  Satan  standing  at  his  right  hand  to  act  as 
his  adversary.2  In  Zechariah  there  is  no  further  explanation  of 
the  Satan's  functions ;  in  Job  it  appears  that  this  son  of  God  goes 
to  and  fro  in  the  earth  as  an  adversary  to  man.  He  cannot  believe 
that  any  man  is  really  good,  really  loves  goodness  for  its  own  sake ; 
"Does  Job  fear  God  for  nought?"  is  his  sarcastic  question,  and 
when  Job  stands  the  first  test,  the  satanic  mind  is  not  satisfied. 
The  Satan,  new  as  he  is  in  the  Biblical  literature,  is  not  the  newest 
and  strangest  conception  in  this  story ;  a  God  who,  to  satisfy  this 
evil-minded  son  of  his,  permits  misery  to  come  to  a  perfect  and 
upright  man,  is  the  most  astonishing  element  in  the  story.  Is 
this  the  God  of  justice  of  whom  Amos  and  Ezekiel  spoke,  or  the 
God  of  love  that  Hosea  and  Jeremiah  came  to  know  ? 

Job  and  the  friends,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  knew  nothing  of  any 
such  reasons  for  the  misfortunes ;  the  writer  uses  a  kind  of  dra- 
matic irony,  putting  the  readers  into  possession  of  facts  unknown 
to  the  actors  in  the  tragedy  that  is  to  follow.  Job,  knowing  of  no 
reason  for  his  misfortunes,  accepts  them  with  complete  resigna- 
tion —  The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be 

1  This  is  translated  as  a  proper  name  in  the  English  Bible,  but  in  the 
Hebrew  it  has  the  definite  article. 

2  To  be  or  act  as  adversary  is  a  denominative  verb  formed  from  satan. 


THE   GREAT   MASTERPIECE,   JOB  323 

the  name  of  the  Lord,  is  his  word  of  submission.  When  his  wife 
bids  him  to  curse  God  and  die,  he  answers,  What  ?  shall  we 
receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil  ? 

The  friends  come  from  distant  regions ;  they  do  not  know  Job, 
so  changed  is  he ;  in  true  oriental  fashion,  they  lift  up  their  voices 
and  weep  and  rend  every  one  his  mantle  and  sprinkle  dust  upon 
their  heads.  Then  they  sit  in  silence  seven  days  and  nights, 
seeing  Job's  great  grief.  So  the  prologue,  the  prose  narrative, 
closes. 

The  poem  begins  with  Job's  curse  or  lament.  In  a  lyric  of  great 
pathos  Job  asks,  Why  was  I  ever  born  ?  WTiy  died  I  not  at  birth  ? 
Why  can  I  not  die  now  ?  There  is  a  strikingly  similar  passage  in 
the  (Edipus  Coloneus. 

Happiest  beyond  compare 
Never  to  taste  of  life ; 
Happiest  in  order  next, 
Being  born,-  with  quickest  speed 
Thither  again  to  turn 
From  whence  we  came. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  change  in  Job  from  complete 
resignation  to  bitter  outcry,  if  the  poem  and  prose  prologue  were 
originally  one  and  do  not  represent  two  different  stories  awkwardly 
joined.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  there  must  have  been  some- 
thing before  the  poem  to  make  it  intelligible  at  all,  and  either  one 
of  two  explanations  is  suggested  to  account  for  the  change  :  Job's 
fortitude  has  given  way  under  the  stress  and  progress  of  his 
disease ;  this  is  commonly  held  to  have  been  elephantiasis,  a  form 
of  leprosy,  horrible  in  its  physical  effects  and,  if  possible,  even 
more  terrible  in  its  mental  aspects;  or  Job  is  maddened  by  the 
silent,  accusing  presence  of  his  friends.  It  becomes  clear  to  the 
reader,  as  the  poem  advances,  that  the  friends  interpret  Job's 
sufferings  as  the  sure  evidence  of  his  sins ;  possibly  he  realized  this 
in  the  seven  days  and  nights  of  silence  and  so  was  driven  to  des- 
perate outcry. 

To  Eliphaz  there  is  no  excuse  for  Job's  words ;  such  giving  way 
to  grief  is  quite  unworthy  of  one  who  has  been  a  counsellor  and 
upholder  of  others.  Job  ought  to  be  confessing  his  sin,  instead  of 
complaining  in  this  fashion.  In  the  sight  of  God,  before  whom  no 


324  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

man  can  be  just,  Job  is  no  doubt  a  great  sinner ;  trouble  does  not 
come  without  a  cause,  though  it  is  true  that  man  is  born  to  trouble 
as  naturally  as  the  sparks  fly  upward.  If  I  were  in  your  place, 
Eliphaz  says  to  Job,  I  would  seek  unto  God  and  commit  my  cause 
unto  him ;  then  he  goes  off  into  ascription  of  lofty  praise  to  God, 
promising  great  blessings  to  Job  if  he  accepts  correction  and  does 
not  despise  the  chastening  of  the  Almighty. 

On  the  strength  of  412fl,  Eliphaz  has  sometimes  been  called  a 
mystic. 

Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to  me, 

And  mine  ear  received  a  whisper  thereof. 

In  thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night, 

When  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men, 

Fear  came  upon  me,  and  trembling, 

Which  made  all  my  bones  to  shake. 

Then  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face ; 

The  hair  of  my  flesh  stood  up. 

It  stood  still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the  appearance  thereof ; 

A  form  was  before  mine  eyes : 

There  was  silence,  and  I  heard  a  voice,  saying, 

Shall  mortal  man  be  more  just  than  God  ? 

Shall  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  Maker  ? 

Job's  answer  seems  at  first  to  have  little  reference  to  the  words 
of  Eliphaz,  except  as  he  admits  that  his  words  have  been  rash1 
because  of  his  great  calamity.  He  longs  for  death  and  has  no 
hope  for  the  future,  his  strength  cannot  last ;  he  is  ready  to  faint, 
and  pity  ought  to  be  showed  him.2  The  figure  with  which  he 
describes  his  experience  with  his  friends  is  an  effective  one  in  that 
land  of  streams  which  are  dry  in  summer's  heat. 

My  brethren  have  dealt  deceitfully  as  a  brook, 

As  the  channel  of  brooks  that  pass  away ; 

Which  are  black  by  reason  of  the  ice, 

And  wherein  the  snow  hideth  itself : 

What  time  they  wax  warm,  they  vanish ; 

When  it  is  hot,  they  are  consumed  out  of  their  place.8 

Chapter  7  describes  the  horror  of  Job's  sickness  and,  near  the 
close,  turns  to  bitter  words  toward  the  watcher  of  men. 

lQ»t  t  Q  14t  3  Q  15-17, 


THE   GREAT  MASTERPIECE,   JOB  325 

If  I  have  sinned,  what  do  I  unto  thee,  0  thou  watcher  of  men  ? 

Why  hast  thou  set  me  as  a  mark  for  thee, 

So  that  I  am  a  burden  to  myself  ? 

And  why  dost  thou  not  pardon  my  transgression,  and  take  away  mine 

iniquity  ? 

For  now  shall  I  lie  down  in  the  dust ; 
And  thou  wilt  seek  me  diligently,  but  I  shall  not  be.1 

Bildad  speaks  much  more  bluntly  than  Eliphaz  has  done.  He 
is  shocked  at  Job's  impiety :  Doth  God  pervert  judgment?  he 
indignantly  asks  and  then  he  makes  a  maddening  suggestion. 

If  thy  children  have  sinned  against  him, 

And  he  hath  delivered  them  into  the  hand  of  their  transgression  ; 

At  the  close  he  holds  out  hope  to  Job,  though  it  may  be  in  sarcasm. 
On  the  ground  especially  of  8  8ff,  Bildad  has  been  styled  a  tradi- 
tionalist, in  contrast  to  Eliphaz. 

For  inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age, 

And  apply  thyself  to  that  which  then-  fathers  have  searched  out 

(For  we  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing, 

Because  our  days  upon  earth  are  a  shadow) ; 

Shall  not  they  teach  thee,  and  tell  thee, 

And  utter  words  out  of  their  heart  ? 

Job  now  feels  the  full  injustice  of  his  fate ;  his  sufferings  prove 
him  guilty  of  sin.  If  it  is  true  that  God  blesses  the  righteous 
and  gives  suffering  to  the  wicked,  then  the  man  who  has  great 
misfortune  must  be  peculiarly  wicked ;  this  was  suggested  in  the 
words  of  Eliphaz  and  is  made  very  clear  by  Bildad.  —  If  thou 
wert  pure  and  upright ;  surely  now  he  would  awake  for  thee,  and 
make  the  habitation  of  thy  righteousness  prosperous;  this  is  the 
irrefutable  wisdom  of  the  generations.  While  Job  sees  the  power 
of  God  and  describes  it  better  than  the  friends  can,  it  is  that  very 
power  which  is  proving  him  guilty;  therefore  Job  concludes  that 
God  destroys  the  perfect  and  the  wicked.  Since  wickedness  rules 
in  the  world,  it  must  be  that  God  is  responsible  for  it. 

The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked ; 
He  covereth  the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof : 
If  it  be  not  he,  who  then  is  it  ? 2 

1  g  20-«>  2  Q  24^ 


326  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

At  length,  Job  returns  to  the  thought  of  the  opening  lament  and 
then  pleads  for  a  little  respite  before  he  goes  to  the  land  of  midnight 
darkness. 

Are  not  my  days  few  ?  cease  then, 

And  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little, 

Before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  return, 

Even  to  the  land  of  darkness  and  of  the  shadow  of  death ; 

The  land  dark  as  midnight, 

The  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  without  any  order, 

And  where  the  light  is  as  midnight.1 

Job's  plea  to  God  for  mercy  is  pathetic  indeed,  but  the  third 
friend,  Zophar,  feels  nothing  of  the  pathos ;  he  is  hot  on  a  theo- 
logical controversy. 

Should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ? 

And  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ? 

Should  thy  boastings  make  men  hold  their  peace  ? 

And  when  thou  mockest,  shall  no  man  make  thee  ashamed  ? 

For  thou  sayest,  My  doctrine  is  pure, 

And  I  am  clean  in  thine  eyes.2 

He  wishes  that  God  would  speak  and  show  Job  the  secrets  of  wis- 
dom, and  he  makes  the  direct  charge  that  God  is  exacting  of  Job 
less  than  his  iniquity  deserves.  How  more  could  be  exacted  it 
is  difficult  to  see ;  Job  would  welcome  death.  At  the  end,  Zophar 
also  holds  out  hope,  if  Job  will  reform. 

The  point  of  view  of  the  friends  is  now  clear.  They  have 
inherited  the  noble  truths  worked  out  by  Israel's  great  prophets ; 
they  believe  in  a  God  of  justice  and  mercy,  and  they  are  most 
ardent  defenders  of  this  belief.  A  vast  mass  of  experience,  in  all 
ages,  confirms  the  truth  of  the  prophetic  doctrine  that  sin  brings 
suffering  to  the  sinner,  but  Job  has  had  an  experience  which  has 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  justice  does  not  prevail  on  the 
earth ;  it  does  not  in  his  case,  and,  as  he  looks  about,  he  sees  that 
it  does  not  in  other  cases. 

In  the  reply  that  closes  this  cycle  of  the  debate,  Job  is  decidedly 
sarcastic  at  the  beginning. 


THE   GREAT  MASTERPIECE,  JOB  327 

No  doubt  but  ye  are  the  people, 

And  wisdom  shall  die  with  you. 

But  I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you ; 

I  am  not  inferior  to  you  : 

Yea,  who  knoweth  not  such  things  as  these  ? l 

The  friends  had  inherited  noble  truths,  and  Job  recognizes  that  they 
know  nothing  but  traditional  truth,  with  which  he  is  quite  as 
familiar  as  they.  To  repeat  such  dogma  to  one  in  his  condition 
is  but  a  mockery. 

In  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at  ease  there  is  contempt  for  misfortune ; 
It  is  ready  for  them  whose  foot  slippeth. 

Euripides,  hi  his  Alcestis,  expressed  similar  truth. 
'Tis  easier  to  advise,  than  suffering  to  endure. 

Then  Job  gives  a  flash-light  picture  of  life  as  it  really  is,  not  as 

theory  paints  it. 

The  tents  of  robbers  prosper, 

And  they  that  provoke  God  are  secure ; 

Into  whose  hand  God  bringeth.2 

You  say  wisdom  is  with  the  ancients,  he  cries;  No,  wisdom  is  with 
God,  and  power,  too.  Then  he  gives  a  splendid,  terrible  description 
of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  manifest  with  injustice. 

With  aged  men  is  wisdom, 

And  in  length  of  days  understanding. 

With  God  is  wisdom  and  might  ; 

He  hath  counsel  and  understanding. 

Behold,  he  breaketh  down,  and  it  cannot  be  built  again ; 

He  shutteth  up  a  man,  and  there  can  be  no  opening. 

Behold,  he  withholdeth  the  waters,  and  they  dry  up ; 

Again,  he  sendeth  them  out,  and  they  overturn  the  earth. 

With  him  is  strength  and  wisdom  ; 

The  deceived  and  the  deceiver  are  hia. 

He  leadeth  counsellors  away  stripped, 

And  judges  maketh  he  fools. 

He  looseth  the  bond  of  kings, 

And  bindeth  their  loins  with  a  girdle. 

1 12  2-3.  1 12  «. 


328  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT^  ISRAEL 

He  leadeth  priests  away  stripped, 

And  overthroweth  the  mighty. 

He  removeth  the  speech  of  the  trusty, 

And  taketh  away  the  understanding  of  the  elders. 

He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes, 

And  looseth  the  belt  of  the  strong. 

He  uncovereth  deep  things  out  of  darkness, 

And  bringeth  out  to  light  the  shadow  of  death. 

He  increaseth  the  nations,  and  he  destroyeth  them : 

He  enlargeth  the  nations,  and  he  leadeth  them  captive. 

He  taketh  away  understanding  from  the  chiefs  of  the  people  of  the  earth, 

And  causeth  them  to  wander  in  a  wilderness  where  there  is  no  way. 

They  grope  in  the  dark  without  light ; 

And  he  maketh  them  to  stagger  like  a  drunken  man.1 

Job  was  face  to  face  with  the  problem  that  has  become  so  in- 
sistent in  these  latter  days ;  power  and  wisdom  we  find  in  the 
wonderful  evolution  of  which  men  talk  so  glibly,  but  where's  the 
justice  in  the  law  of  tooth  and  claw?  Is  not  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  the  right  of  mere  might  ?  Job  is  a  very  modern  book  ; 
it  brings  time-honored  theory  to  the  test  in  the  laboratory  of  life. 
He  knows  the  theory  just  as  well  as  his  confident  friends,  and  he 
knows  that  the  facts  do  not  harmonize  with  the  theory.  Job  was 
at  heart  a  scientist,  and  when  the  scientific  test  of  loyalty  to  simple 
fact  is  applied,  time-honored  theories  often  come  crashing  down. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  opens  :  — 

Lo,  mine  eye  hath  seen  all  this, 
Mine  ear  hath  heard  and  understood  it. 
What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I  know  also : 
I  am  not  inferior  unto  you. 

Surely  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty, 
And  I  desire  to  reason  with  God.2 

There  we  begin  to  get  at  the  heart  of  Job ;  he  must  come  face  to 
face  with  God.  To  him,  these  men  who  repeat  pious  platitudes 
are  forgers  of  lies,  thinking  to  defend  and  please  God  with  that 
which  is  contrary  to  fact. 

1 12  12-25.  2 13  *-». 


THE   GREAT   MASTERPIECE,   JOB  329 

Hear  now  my  reasoning, 

And  hearken  to  the  pleadings  of  my  lips. 

Will  ye  speak  unrighteously  for  God, 

And  talk  deceitfully  for  him  ? 

Will  ye  show  partiality  to  him  ? 

Will  ye  contend  for  God  ? 

Is  it  good  that  he  should  search  you  out  ? 

Or  as  one  deceiveth  a  man,  will  ye  deceive  him?1 

He  will  start  out  on  bold  adventure,  abandoning  orthodox  false- 
hood, and,  taking  his  life  in  his  hand,  will  face  God  and  present 
his  case  before  him. 

Wherefore  should  I  take  my  flesh  hi  my  teeth, 
And  put  my  life  hi  my  hand  ? 
Behold,  he  will  slay  me ;  I  have  no  hope : 
Nevertheless  I  will  maintain  my  ways  before  him.2 

Then  the  human  strength  of  the  sick  man  fails ;  if  only  God  would 
remove  his  hand  from  him,  he  could  argue  his  case,  man's  life  is 
so  brief  and  at  its  end,  oblivion !  O  that  thou  wouldst  hide  me 
in  the  grave  till  thy  wrath  is  passed  and  then  give  me  a  hearing, 
is  his  prayer. 

This  line  of  thought  brings  Job  to  the  great  mystery  of  the  ages 
—  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ?  If  Job  could  believe  in  a  life 
beyond  the  grave,  he  could  wait  all  the  days  of  his  appointed  time, 
but  he  cannot  believe  it  —  The  water  washes  away  the  stones, 
and  thou  destroyest  the  hope  of  man.  Not  life,  but  oblivion  is 
man's  fate.  Job  sinks  back  in  despair,  and  the  first  cycle  of  the 
debate  is  ended. 

The  discussion  proceeds  through  two  more  cycles,  in  which  the 
friends  are  able  to  add  little  to  the  strength  of  their  position, 
though  their  accusations  become  more  direct;  Eliphaz  charges 
that  Job's  own  mouth  condemns  him  and  later  accuses  the  sufferer 
of  a  long  category  of  sins,  such  as  one  in  his  former  position  might 
have  committed.  Job's  professed  inability  to  find  God  is  cleverly, 
though  superficially,  perverted  into  ground  for  accusing  him  of 
sinning,  in  the  confidence  that  God  could  not  see  him.  The  blunt 
and  brutal  Bildad  quite  loses  his  temper  because  of  Job's  lack  of 

1  13  6-8.  1  13  14-1S. 


330  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

respect  for  him  and  his  friends;  it  must  be  confessed  that  Job 
gives  some  occasion  in  his  scorn  for  the  miserable  comforters  who 
have  nothing  new  to  offer  in  his  perplexity. 

In  the  third  cycle  Bildad  interjects  a  few  words  only  and  Zo- 
phar's  name  does  not  appear.  This  has  often  been  interpreted  as 
an  intentional  indication  that  the  friends  have  been  silenced.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  a  part  of  chapter  27  was  originally  assigned 
to  Zophar,  since  the  point  of  view  is  that  of  the  friends;  in  the 
mouth  of  Job,  the  words  could  only  be  sarcastic.  It  is  possible 
also  that  Bildad's  speech  was  originally  longer.1  Without  the 
rather  inartistically  obvious  method  of  indicating  the  silencing  of 
the  friends  by  assigning  a  few  words  only  to  Bildad  and  omitting 
Zophar,  it  is  evident  that  they  have  no  more  to  say. 

In  the  second  cycle,  it  appears  that  all  Job  really  asks  of  his 
friends  is  some  comprehending  sympathy,  while  he  fights  his  lone- 
some battle  of  the  soul.  It  is  God  with  whom  the  hero  of  the  poem 
is  really  concerned ;  the  fact  that  God  is  his  enemy  without  cause, 
rends  Job's  heart.  Early  in  the  second  cycle,  Job  rises  to  the 
assurance  that  in  heaven  his  case  is  clear;  apparently  this  high 
faith  lasts  a  moment  only,  and  his  thoughts  turn  to  the  grave  as 
his  only  hope.  A  little  later,  he  returns  to  the  conviction  that  he 
must  have  a  vindicator 2  hi  heaven  and  that  ultimately  he  will  see 
God.  This  much  is  clear,  though  the  close  of  verse  26  is  ambigu- 
ous; it  may  possibly  mean,  as  the  King  James  version  has  it,  in 
my  flesh  I  shall  see  God,  or  it  may  mean,  as  in  the  Revised  versions, 
without  my  flesh.  The  latter  is  the  preferable  rendering,  although 
it  expresses  a  hope  for  the  future  life  of  the  spirit  quite  foreign  to 
Job's  usual  thought.  Once  more,  in  the  third  cycle,  Job  cries, 

0  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him ! 
That  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat ! 

and  goes  on  to  express  his  firm  faith  that  then  he  would  get  a  fair 
hearing.  Though  he  cannot  find  God,3  Job  is  confident  that  the 
hidden  one  knows  the  way  he  takes,  and  that,  when  he  has  been 
tried,  he  shall  come  forth  as  gold. 

1  Barton  tentatively  reconstructs  Bildad's  third  speech  :  25  1~*>  24  ttt 
is,  B-s?  30  Mf  24  »•  22-  19-  20-  24.  Job,  The  Bible  for  Home  and  School. 

2 19 2S.  Vindicator  (See  R.  V.  margin)  represents  the  idea  of  goel 
better  than  redeemer.  3  23  3~7. 


THE   GREAT   MASTERPIECE,   JOB  331 

The  debate  closes  with  the  friends  silenced,  though  not  con- 
vinced; perhaps  Job  himself  would  never  have  come  to  see  the 
error  in  the  current  theology  without  the  bitter  experience  that 
forced  him  to  a  new  point  of  view. 

Following  the  section  that  may  have  been  Zophar's  missing 
speech  (27  7~n-  13~23),  there  comes  a  remarkable  poem  upon  the 
unsearchableness  of  wisdom.1  This  is  not  assigned  to  any  one  of 
the  speakers  and  probably  was  inserted  by  some  one  who  felt  that 
it  added  a  thought  to  the  subject  under  discussion ;  it  is  no  real 
help  to  the  working  out  of  the  plan  of  the  book,  but  in  itself  is  a 
precious  memorial  of  one  type  of  Israel's  poetry.  In  the  next 
three  chapters,  Job  speaks  at  length,  contrasting  his  former  honor 
with  his  present  dishonored  condition,  telling  how  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  give  sympathy  to  the  wretched,  and  defending 
himself  against  the  charges  of  sin.  Suddenly  he  thinks,  What  is 
the  use  of  this  long  defence  ?  The  Almighty  does  not  hear  me, 
and  I  am  defending  myself  without  knowledge  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  indictment. 

The  doctrine  of  rewards  and  penalties,  which  counted  misfor- 
tune as  the  sure  mark  of  guilt,  introduced  a  deep  note  of  tragedy 
into  the  life  of  many  an  earnest  soul  in  ancient  Israel,  a  tragedy 
that  we  can  only  imperfectly  realize.  It  finds  expression  in  the 
psalmist's  prayer, 

Who  can  understand  his  errors  ; 
Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults. 

The  Babylonian  penitential  psalms  reflect  the  same  anxiety  con- 
cerning sin,  the  nature  of  which  is  unknown  to  the  guilty  one. 

Following  Job's  conclusion  of  the  debate 2  come  the  speeches  of 
Elihu,  prefaced  by  a  prose  statement.  Elihu  has  kept  silent  while 
those  older  than  he  spoke,  but  now  he  bursts  forth  hi  indignation 
against  Job  and  the  friends  who  have  not  been  able  to  answer; 
he  describes  himself  as  full  of  words,  and  so  he  proves  to  be.  De- 
spite his  swelling  promises,  he  adds  little  to  the  points  the  three 
have  made.  The  entire  section,  32  to  36,  is  best  interpreted  as  an 
interpolation  rather  than  the  work  of  the  master  who  composed 
the  main  part  of  the  book. 

Chapter  28.  »31". 


332  THE   LITERATURE    OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Dropping  out  the  Elihu  section,  immediately  after  Job  finishes 
speaking  Jehovah  answers  him  out  of  the  stormwind.  It  is  the 
old,  poetic  conception  of  the  God  of  Israel  appearing  in  the  storm 
cloud ;  he  comes  to  speak  of  his  wisdom  and  power  as  seen  in  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  in  the  order  and  control  of  the  mighty 
forces  of  nature.  The  poetry  is  fine,  though  the  thought  is  that 
common  to  the  Hebrew  prophets  and  poets,  at  least  of  the  post- 
exilic  period. 

Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ? 

Declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding. 

Who  determined  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest  ? 

Or  who  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 

Whereupon  were  the  foundations  thereof  fastened  ? 

Or  who  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof, 

When  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 

And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ? 

Or  who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors, 

When  it  brake  forth,  as  if  it  had  issued  out  of  the  womb ; 

When  I  made  clouds  the  garment  thereof, 

And  thick  darkness  a  swaddling-band  for  it, 

And  marked  out  for  it  my  bound, 

And  set  bars  and  doors, 

And  said,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further ; 

And  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed  ? x 

When  Jehovah  is  made  to  speak,  later,2  of  his  unsearchable 
wisdom  and  power  as  seen  in  animal  life,  it  is  to  us  less  sublime  and, 
at  times,  almost  ludicrous,  unless  we  recall  that  superficial  obser- 
vations upon  the  habits  of  the  wild  creatures  seemed  recondite 
wisdom  among  the  ancients. 

At  length  Job  is  called  upon  to  answer  this  display  of  the 
divine  wisdom,  and  he  replies :  — 

Behold,  I  am  of  small  account ;  what  shall  I  answer  thee  ? 

I  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth. 

Once  have  I  spoken,  and  I  will  not  answer ; 

Yea,  twice,  but  I  will  proceed  no  further.3 

1 38  4~u.  *  39.  8  40  *-6. 


THE   GREAT   MASTERPIECE,  JOB  333 

Jehovah  now  goes  on  still  more  completely  to  humble  Job  with 
further  descriptions  of  his  power  as  as  seen  hi  the  semi-mythical 
behemoth  and  leviathan.  From  our  point  of  view,  this  seems  on 
a  much  lower  level  than  the  preceding  words  of  Jehovah ;  perhaps 
it  was  a  climax  to  those  who  lived  hi  an  age  that  believed  hi  the 
creatures  described.1 

Job  answers  in  words  that  give  the  real  conclusion  of  his  long 
struggle: 

Then  Job  answered  Jehovah,  and  said, 

I  know  that  thou  canst  do  all  things, 

And  that  no  purpose  of  thine  can  be  restrained. 

Who  is  this  that  hideth  counsel  without  knowledge  ? 

Therefore  have  I  uttered  that  which  I  understood  not, 

Things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not. 

Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak ; 

I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me. 

I  had  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear ; 

But  now  mine  eyes  seeth  thee : 

Wherefore  I  abhor  myself, 

And  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.1 

Viewed  as  a  philosophical  discussion  of  the  problem  of  suffering, 
the  closing  chapters  of  the  poem  do  not  advance  beyond  the  dis- 
credited argument  of  the  friends,  that  God  is  too  exalted  to  be 
understood  or  questioned;  but  the  book  of  Job  is  not  primarily 
a  philosophical  discussion;  it  is  a  poem  in  its  essence,  as  well  as 
in  form.  It  has  often  been  called  a  dramatic  poem,  and  it  can  be 
acted.3  To  be  sure,  the  action  is  chiefly  hi  the  prologue ;  in  the 
long  debate,  there  is  no  change  of  scene  or  characters.  In  the 
early  Greek  dramas  little  happened  on  the  stage,  what  had 
happened  elsewhere  being  recounted  to  the  audience.  The  lack 
of  actors  and  action  on  the  stage  itself  was  largely  supplied  by  the 
chorus  which,  with  its  constant  movement  and  song,  filled  and 
gratified  the  eye  and  ear.  The  Greek  drama  grew  out  of  a  combi- 
nation of  the  rhythmic  movements  of  sacrificial  ceremonies  with 

1  Many  regard  40  15  to  41  M  as  a  later  addition.  For  a  concise  argument 
see  Barton,  Job,  pp.  31-32.  *  42  l~*. 

*  It  was  performed  at  Smith  College,  some  twenty  years  ago  —  a  per- 
formance that  attracted  wide  attention. 


334  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

lyric,  narrative  poetry,  and  dialogue.  With  all  possible  conces- 
sions made,  we  can  hardly  call  Job  a  drama.  It  does  not  have 
even  the  action  of  religious  ceremony  or  dance  of  any  kind,  and 
the  dialogue  is  slow,  though  splendidly  wrought  out.  In  fact, 
the  Semites  did  not  develop  a  drama  in  the  European  sense. 
Job  has  more  affinity  with  the  drama  than  with  any  other  form 
of  European  poetry,  but  we  have  already  noted  that  Semitic 
literature  has  its  own  forms,  and  it  is  useless  to  try  and  bring  these 
rigidly  under  our  Greek  categories. 

The  book  has  again  been  denominated  an  epic,  The  Epic  of  the 
Inner  Life.1  As  Homer  and  Vergil  wrote  of  wars  and  wanderings, 
deeds  of  martial  heroes  who  strove  and  struggled  with  great 
strength  or  cunning  to  win  success  in  ways  that  delighted  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  so  the  author  of  Job  wrote  of  a  typical  Jewish 
hero  whose  warfare  was  within  the  soul  and  whose  wanderings 
were  on  the  restless  seas  of  religious  doubt  and  hope.  In  literary 
form,  the  poem  is  less  like  an  epic  than  a  drama,  yet  the  suggestion 
of  its  epic  quality  has  greatly  helped  to  an  understanding  of  the 
true  import  of  the  book. 

The  friends  have  some  individuality,  at  least  Eliphaz  and  Bildad 
have,  yet  their  chief  service  is  to  present  current  doctrine  effec- 
tively and  to  goad  Job  on  in  his  long  struggle  toward  a  God  in 
whom  his  soul  can  rest.  Viewing  the  book  as  the  story  of  Job's 
inner  life,  one  finds  more  progress  in  the  cycles  of  speeches  than 
when  these  are  considered  as  a  debate. 

The  God  in  whom  Job  has  been  taught  to  believe,  no  longer 
exists  for  him;  Job  does  not  question  the  existence  of  one  who 
rules  over  the  affairs  of  men,  but  he  does  deny  that  there  is  one 
who  rules  with  justice.  He  even  holds  God  responsible  for  the 
injustice  done  by  human  judges.  When  Job  realizes  that  the 
friends  are  trying  to  please  God  by  lying  for  him,  the  author  gives 
us  our  first  clear  view  of  his  hero's  higher  faith  in  God ;  he  cannot 
believe  that  God  loves  a  lie,  even  when  it  is  told  in  his  defence. 
That  came  out  in  the  last  speech  of  the  first  cycle ;  in  the  second 
cycle,  this  faith  in  truth  which  is  the  inalienable  right  of  every  fear- 
less lover  of  truth,  led  Job  to  his  fleeting,  returning  faith  that  the 
justice  of  his  cause  was  recorded  in  heaven ;  it  led  him  also  to  his 
1  See  the  volume  of  this  title  by  Professor  J.  F.  Genung. 


THE  GREAT  MASTERPIECE,  JOB  335 

momentary  glimpses  beyond  the  dark  grave.  At  first  there  was 
only  a  question  —  If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ?  If  only  Job 
could  believe  in  that  future  chance,  he  could  endure  everything 
here.  It  is  a  wonderful,  prophetic  glimpse  from  a  time  when  a 
clear  faith  in  personal  immortality  had  not  yet  come  to  man. 
After  the  Christian  faith  came  clear,  men  learned  to  endure,  as 
Job  knew  that  he  could,  with  joyous  strength,  through  seeing  the 
unseen.  Again  the  hope  returned  to  Job,  and  no  longer  as  a  mere 
question ;  it  became,  for  the  moment,  a  confident  assurance  that, 
though  worms  might  destroy  this  body,  he  would  come  face  to 
face  with  God. 

Through  the  centuries  since  Job  was  written,  philosophers  and, 
especially,  poets  have  struggled  with  the  problem  of  Job.  Brown- 
ing is  full  of  it,  and  so  are  the  great  dramatists  from  ^Eschylus  to 
modern  times.  Partial  solutions  that  go  beyond  the  philosophy 
of  Job  have  been  offered ;  the  full  answer  is  not  yet.  The  poet 
of  the  Suffering  Servant,  indeed,  went  far  deeper  than  the  author  of 
Job  into  the  mystery  of  suffering. 

As  an  argument,  Job  is  negative ;  it  demolishes  absolutely  the 
theory  that  righteousness  on  the  one  hand  and  health,  wealth,  and 
honor  on  the  other  are  always  proportional.  Perhaps  that  is  all 
the  intellectual  achievement  that  ought  to  be  demanded  of  any 
one  writer,  but  that  accomplishment  is  not  what  makes  the  book 
a  great  poem.  Job,  like  all  true  literature,  is  an  interpretation  of 
life  —  "Life  is  deeper  and  wider  than  any  particular  lesson  to  be 
learned  from  it;  and  just  when  we  think  that  we  have  at  last 
guessed  its  best  meanings,  it  laughs  in  our  face  with  some  paradox 
which  turns  our  solution  into  a  new  riddle." l  Job  mirrors  the 
struggles  of  brave,  true  men  and  women  to-day,  as  well  as  in 
the  fourth  century  before  Christ.  It  proves  itself  peculiarly  the 
college  students'  book  among  the  writings  of  ancient  Israel,  for 
it  tells  the  story  of  their  inner  life  when  they,  like  Job,  are  willing 
to  venture  all  for  faith  in  truth. 

The  last  eight  verses  of  the  prose  epilogue  mark  a  sad  reaction 

from  the  great  poem.     They  give  back  to  Job  just  double  all  his 

former  wealth  and  family  and   bring  life  down  to  the  vulgar, 

account-book  standards  that  the  poem  spurned  and  shattered. 

1  H.  A.  Beers,  Split  Zephyr. 


336  THE    LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

This  must  be  a  part  of  the  older  story  of  Job,  which  the  poet 
allowed  to  remain,  or  else,  an  unfortunate  accretion.  As  the  book 
stands,  the  first  part  of  the  epilogue  puts  a  noble  seal  of  approval 
on  the  lesson  of  the  poem.  Jehovah  condemns  the  friends  who 
have  not  spoken  the  thing  that  was  right  as  his  servant  Job  has ; 
they  are  to  offer  sacrifices  and  Job  is  to  pray  for  them  that  they 
may  escape  the  consequences  of  their  folly.  Without  this  sanction 
of  Job's  words,  the  poem  itself  indicates  firm  faith  that  God, 
though  his  ways  are  past  finding  out,  will  reveal  himself  to  the 
one  who  seeks  and  in  a  measure  that  will  satisfy  and  leave  the 
soul  at  rest. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

WISDOM  LITERATURE   IN  THE   GREEK  AGE 

Ecclesiastes,  Proverbs,  and  Ecclesiasticus 
(332  to  168  B.C.) 

IN  the  year  332  B.C.,  Alexander  passed  through  Syria  on  his 
way  to  Egypt,  and  Judea,  in  common  with  the  other  districts  of 
Palestine,  came  under  the  Macedonian  rule.  We  have  treated 
the  book  of  Job  as  written  at  about  this  time ;  further  aspects  of 
Job's  problem  were  subsequently  discussed  in  Ecclesiastes  and  The 
Wisdom  of  Solomon.1  These  books  show  that  one  group  of 
Jewish  sages,  during  the  three  centuries  before  Christ,  was  reflect- 
ing deeply  upon  "  the  great  ethical  and  religious  question  of  the 
world  —  the  question  of  the  justice  of  the  divine  government." 
Another  class  of  reflective  thinkers  ignored  such  profound  problems 
and  occupied  itself  with  the  questions  of  practical,  everyday 
life,  producing  books  of  gnomic  wisdom,  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiasti- 
cus.2 After  considering  Ecclesiastes,3  we  shall  turn  to  the  work 
of  the  latter  group. 

In  spite  of  the  intellectual  bafflement  in  which  the  book  of  Job 
ended,  that  work  marked,  we  saw,  a  great  advance  upon  the  point 
of  view  of  the  current  philosophy.  It  was  a  real  gain  to  the  cause 
of  truth  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  rewards  sought  by  men  are 
not  always  given  in  direct  proportion  to  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of 
the  seeker.  The  question  of  Ecclesiastes  is  the  natural  sequel : 
Are  the  rewards  sought  worth  while,  when  obtained?  —  "What 

1  The  latter  work  is  a  product  of  the  Judaism  of  Alexandria  and,  as 
such,  shows  constantly  the  influence  of  familiarity  with  Greek  thought. 
It  was  written  after  the  period  of  history  included  in  the  present  volume, 
probably  during  the  first  century  B.C. 

*  See  C.  H.  Toy,  Proverbs,  Int.  Grit.  Com.,  pp.  xxvif. 

*  The  name  is  the  Greek  attempt  to  translate  Koheleth,  which  signifies 
a  collector  of  sentences  or  a  preacher. 

z  337 


338  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

profit  hath  a  man  of  all  his  labor  wherein  he  laboreth  under  the 
sun?"  In  terms  of  modern  philosophy,  wisdom  here  undertakes 
a  search  for  values. 

To  test  the  question  raised,  the  writer  assumes  the  personality 
of  him  who  was  Israel's  type  of  fullest  attainment  in  wealth, 
power,  and  wisdom.  He  does  not,  however,  carry  out  this  im- 
personation very  rigidly ;  he  speaks  often  from  the  standpoint  of 
one  living  under  the  hopeless  oppression  of  an  Oriental  despotism, 
where  there  is  "one  corrupt  ruler  above  another,  making  appeal 
for  redress  useless." 

Life  is  empty;  that  is  the  "opening  conclusion"  or  the  thesis, 
and  the  ground  for  this  view  is  suggested  in  verse  3,  the  great 
question  already  quoted,  What  profit  hath  a  man  of  all  his  labor  ?  — 
Are  the  rewards  of  life  worth  having?  The  question  is  not  far 
from  the  modern  query,  Is  life  worth  living?  The  verses  that 
follow  indicate  the  basis  of  the  question ;  the  life  of  nature  and  the 
life  of  man  are  just  a  meaningless  round.  The  thought  is  a  familiar 
one  in  various  philosophies;  it  is  characteristic  of  the  hopeless 
world  view  of  India,  and  the  Stoics  had  their  theory  of  the  cycles 
of  events.1  In  Koheleth  the  thought  is  not  elaborated  into  that 
of  a  system  of  cycles;  it  is  simply  the  weary  round.  Men  labor 
and  labor,  but  the  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight  and  that 
which  is  wanting  cannot  be  numbered. 

In  his  assumed  role  as  the  wise  king  in  Jerusalem,  the  preacher 
tries  to  satiety  the  various  things  that  seem  good;  first,  it  was 
wisdom,  practical  insight  into  life,  but  this  brought  only  sorrow. 
From  this  grave  pursuit  he  turned  to  mirth  and  found  it  mockery ; 
next  came  sensuous  indulgence,  wine,  under  restraint  such  as 
Epicurus  taught,  by  which  the  physical  capacity  to  enjoy  might 
be  conserved.  Then  he  tried  that  form  of  creative  activity  to 
which  wealth  to-day  so  often  turns  for  recreation,  the  laying  out 
of  great  estates  with  their  mansions,  orchards,  gardens,  and  pools. 
A  horde  of  slaves  cared  for  all  this,  and  flocks  and  herds  dotted 
the  landscape ;  indoors  trained  musicians  whiled  away  the  hours. 

1  Whether  Ecclesiastes  is  tinged  by  contact  with  Greek  philosophical 
thought  has  been  much  debated.  It  certainly  was  not  influenced  to  any 
great  extent.  Similarities  with  Stoicism  may  be  accounted  for  in  the 
reverse  order,  since  Zeno  was  a  Semite. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN  THE   GREEK  AGE        339 

So  long  as  the  novelty  lasted  and  there  were  new  things  to  do, 
pleasure  was  found  hi  it  all;1  but  that  was  temporary.  When 
Koheleth  looked  at  the  work  done,  all  was  emptiness  and  vexation 
of  spirit.  Wisdom  is  better  than  folly,  yet  all  that  one  has  accu- 
mulated must  be  left  to  another,  and  who  knows  but  that  one  may 
be  a  fool ! 

Chapter  3  contains  the  familiar  poem  on  a  tune  for  everything, 
followed  by  the  observation  that,  as  matters  now  are,  this  theory 
does  not  seem  to  be  working  just  yet,  and  followed,  too,  by  a 
definite  rejection  of  the  hope  of  a  future  life  as  a  solution. 

I  said  in  my  heart,  It  is  because  of  the  sons  of  men,  that  God  may  prove 
them,  and  that  they  may  see  that  they  themselves  are  but  as  beasts.  For 
that  which  befalleth  the  sons  of  men  befalleth  beasts;  even  one  thing 
befalleth  them :  as  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other ;  yea,  they  have  all 
one  breath ;  and  man  hath  no  preeminence  above  the  beasts :  for  all  is 
vanity.  All  go  unto  one  place ;  all  are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn  to  dust 
again.  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man,  whether  it  goeth  upward,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  beast,  whether  it  goeth  downward  to  the  earth  ? 2 

Thus  the  search  for  a  satisfying  object  of  life's  effort  has  proved 
vain.  There  is  nothing  better  than  that  a  man  should  rejoice  hi 
his  works ;  for  that  is  his  portion ;  for  who  shall  bring  him  back  to 
see  what  shall  be  after  him?  3 

The  remainder  of  the  book  seems  less  orderly  in  its  arrangement 
than  the  first  three  chapters.  There  are  groups  of  brief  maxims 
which  exhibit  little  connection  with  their  context.4  In  general 
these  are  much  like  the  disconnected  aphorisms  gathered  hi  the 
book  of  Proverbs.  At  one  point,  however,  the  view  seems  in 
harmony  with  Job  rather  than  with  the  writers  of  Proverbs. 

All  this  have  I  seen  in  my  days  of  vanity :  there  is  a  righteous  man 
that  perisheth  in  his  righteousness,  and  there  is  a  wicked  man  that  pro- 
longeth  his  life  in  his  evil-doing.5 

1  Ecclesiastes  1 10. 

2  Ecclesiastes  3 18~21.     The  writer  recently  heard  a  distinguished  biol- 
ogist speak  of  the  "modern  discovery  that  man  is  an  animal."     In  the 
words  of  the  observer  of  2000  years  ago,  "There  is  no  new  thing  under  the 
sun."  s  Ecclesiastes  3M. 

4  Such  are  51"9,  7,  10 *-!! 10.  Some  of  the  verses  in  these  sections  are 
probably  glosses,  while  others  were  included  by  the  original  writer.  See 
G.  A.  Barton,  Ecclesiastes,  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  in  loc.  *  Ecclesiastes  7 15. 


340  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Following  this  there  is  an  interesting  warning  against  extremes, 
suggesting  Aristotle's  doctrine  of  the  mean. 

Be  not  righteous  overmuch;  neither  make  thyself  overwise:  why 
shouldest  thou  destroy  thyself?  Be  not  overmuch  wicked,  neither  be 
thou  foolish :  why  shouldest  thou  die  before  thy  time  ?  It  is  good  that 
thou  shouldest  take  hold  of  this ;  yea,  also  from  that  withdraw  not  thy 
hand.1 

Glancing  at  the  more  connected  portions,  we  read  of  the  oppres- 
sions that  are  done  under  the  sun,2  of  the  cares  and  deceitfulness 
of  riches,3  and  of  the  hopelessness  of  gratifying  human  desire.4 
It  is  natural  that  the  thought  of  oblivion  in  death  should  recur  to 
the  writer  in  the  midst  of  such  meditations,5  though  his  spirit 
rebounds  from  the  despair  of  contemplating  the  common  event 
to  the  possibility  of  activity  and  some  attainable  happiness. 
The  picture  of  the  poor  man  who  by  his  wisdom  saved  his  city 
gives  promise  of  something  more  hopeful,  until  the  cynical  turn 
comes  —  yet  no  man  remembered  that  same  poor  man.6 

Near  the  close  of  the  book  comes  the  impressive  poem, 

Remember  now  thy  creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth.7 
Of  this  Professor  Genung  writes :  — 

"Better  than  anything  else  except  the  opening  exclamation,  the  Book 
of  Koheleth  is  known,  to  ordinary  readers,  by  the  elaborately  colored 
chapter  on  the  decline  of  the  vital  powers ;  it  is  the  acknowledged  high- 
water  mark  of  poetic  utterance.  One  is  reminded  of  the  Ninth  Symphony 
of  Beethoven,  wherein,  the  utmost  resources  of  orchestra  proving  inade- 
quate to  his  mighty  musical  conception,  he  must  needs  supplement  wood 
and  strings  and  brass  by  a  chorus  of  living  human  voices.  It  is  no  longer 
a  Hebrew  wisdom  couplet  that  we  hear,  but  a  majestic  tide  of  world 
poetry.  And  when  we  consider  what  and  how  it  culminates,  we  cannot 
call  this  access  of  larger  diction  and  rhythm  adventitious.  It  is  like  the 
melting  of  struggling  discords  into  a  grave  and  solemn  yet  restful  har- 
mony." 8 

Professor  Schmidt  treats  II7  to  12 7  as  a  connected   "Song  of 
Youth  and  Age."     He  translates  the  portion  from  chapter  11 :  — 

1  Ecclesiastes  7 18~18a.  2  Ibid.  4 M.  3  Ibid.  5 10~",  6 lfl. 

«  Ibid.  6  7~12.  6  Ibid.  9 1~8.  6  Ibid.  9  "-16. 

7  Ibid.  12  !-7.  8  J.  F.  Genung,  Words  of  Koheleth. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN  THE  GREEK  AGE       341 

Sweet  is  the  light,  good  to  the  eyes 
It  is  to  see  the  shining  sun. 
Though  many  be  the  years  he  lives, 
Man  should  hi  all  of  them  rejoice. 

Rejoice,  0  young  man,  hi  thy  youth, 
Let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  thy  prime, 
Walk  in  the  way  thy  fancy  leads, 
Follow  what  pleases  best  thine  eyes. 

Remove  all  worry  from  thy  mind, 
And  from  thy  body  banish  pain ; 
For  youth  is  but  a  passing  breath, 
Life's  dayspring  only  vanity. 

He  continues  the  translation  of  chapter  12:  — 

The  days  of  evil  will  draw  nigh, 
The  years  in  which  no  pleasure  is, 
When  the  sun's  h'ght  to  darkness  turns, 
And  after  rain  the  clouds  appear.1 

A  few  concluding  comments  end  this  book,  which  has  strangely 
attracted  and  repelled  different  natures.  Many  of  its  sentiments 
greatly  shocked  some  orthodox  owner  of  an  early  copy  who  inter- 
polated frequent  stereotyped  scraps  of  pious  wisdom  that  seem 
quite  out  of  harmony  with  their  context.2  Haupt  sums  up  the 
impressions  of  the  book  upon  different  natures :  — 

"The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  is  unparalleled  in  the  whole  range  of  Biblical 
literature.  Ernest  Renan  spoke  of  it  as  the  only  charming  book  that 
was  ever  written  by  a  Jew.  Heinrich  Heine  called  it  the  Canticles  of 
Skepticism,  while  Franz  Delitzsch  thought  it  was  entitled  to  the  name  of 
the  Canticles  of  the  Fear  of  God.  From  the  earliest  tunes  down  to  the 
present  age,  Ecclesiastes  has  attracted  the  attention  of  thinkers.  It  was 
a  favorite  book  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who  referred  to  it  as  a  Mirror  of 
Princes."  8 

1  N.  Schmidt,  The  Messages  of  the  Poets,  pp.  380-381. 

2  Indeed,  there  were  probably  at  least  two  such  early  interpolators, 
one  of  whom  wrote  from  the  point  of  view  of  orthodox  "wisdom"  and  the 
other  from  that  of  pious  Pharisaic  tendencies.     See  MeNeile,  in  Hastings' 
(one  volume)  Bible  Dictionary  and  Barton,  in  Int.  Crit.  Com.,  p.  43  ff. 

1  The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes. 


342  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Professor  Genung  finds  in  the  repeated  injunction  to  eat  and  drink 
and  enjoy  good  in  all  one's  labor  a  thought  highly  characteristic 
of  the  late  nineteenth  century,  a  thought  very  similar  to  that 
which  finds  repeated  expression  in  Kipling's  Day's  Work. 

"Doubtless  the  discovery,  in  which  every  wise  soul  will  echo  Koheleth, 
that  when  a  man  gets  what  he  works  for,  however  glorious  or  remunera- 
tive, it  turns  out  inevitably  to  be  no  reward  at  all,  does  not  satisfy,  was 
what  put  him  on  the  track  of  this  inquiry,  'What  profit  ?'  From  this  he 
comes  to  see  that  there  is  really  nothing  outside  of  life  itself  that  can 
possibly  be  offered  as  payment,  as  a  cash  equivalent  for  it.  If  this  holds 
good  at  all  —  and  no  experience  can  gainsay  it  —  it  must  hold  good  in 
any  and  every  sphere.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things  to  put  up  the 
allotted  work,  the  developed  aptitude,  the  supreme  interest  and  power  of 
one's  life,  in  the  market  for  pay.  If  life  cannot  be  its  own  reward,  there 
is  nothing  else  to  barter  for  it." x 

Driver's  interpretation  represents  more  closely  the  thought  of 
the  writer  of  the  third  century  B.C.  "Life  under  all  its  aspects 
is  dissatisfying  and  disappointing ;  the  best  that  can  be  done  with 
it  is  to  enjoy  —  not  indeed  in  excess,  but  in  a  wise  and  well- 
considered  moderation,  and  as  a  gift  intended  by  God  to  be 
enjoyed  —  such  pleasures  as  it  brings  with  it." 2 

The  limitations  of  Koheleth  and  of  his  point  of  view  need  little 
emphasis.  The  hope  of  the  great  prophets  for  an  age  of  justice, 
peace,  and  prosperity  had  not  been  realized.  The  interpretation 
of  life  given  in  the  poem  of  the  Suffering  Servant  meant  nothing  to 
this  writer,  if  he  had  ever  read  the  poem ;  of  altruism  he  knew  very 
little.  With  all  his  testing  he  had  not  tried  joy  in  the  service  of 
others.  With  his  view  of  life,  what  was  the  use  of  trying  to  make 
things  better?  Life  was  all  a  hopeless  round,  generation  after 
generation.  Koheleth  deliberately  rejected  the  thought  of  a 
personal  immortality,  which  some  in  his  day  were  accepting  and 
which  has  made  life  full  of  hope  in  sorrow  for  multitudes ;  he 

1  Genung,  Words  of  Koheleth. 

"The  closing  words  of  the  above  quotation  give  an  admirable  state- 
ment of  the  conclusion  that  a  twentieth  century  thinker  may  well  reach 
when  meditating  upon  'the  discovery  in  which  every  wise  soul  will  echo 
Koheleth.' "  (H.  T.  Fowler,  Studies  in  the  Wisdom  Literature,  p.  94.) 

2  Driver,  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN  THE  GREEK  AGE        343 

never  dreamed  of  an  increasing  purpose  which  through  the  ages 
runs  and  which  makes  life  a  glorious  upward  struggle  for  the  race. 
The  selfish,  prudential  aspect  of  ancient  Hebrew  wisdom  reached 
its  inevitable  goal  hi  Ecclesiastes. 

In  summing  up  the  writing  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy  (Chapter 
XVI)  it  was  recognized  that  aphoristic  wisdom  appeared  early  in 
the  history  of  Israel's  thought  and  that  by  Jeremiah's  tune  "the 
wise"  had  come  to  form  a  class,  grouped  with  the  priests  and 
prophets ; l  it  was  recognized  also  that  there  may  have  been 
written  collections  of  gnomic  wisdom  before  the  close  of  the 
monarchy.  Proverbial  literature  necessarily  lacks  definite  his- 
torical allusions,  so  that  it  is  even  more  difficult  to  trace  its  history 
in  detail  than  that  of  the  Psalms. 

Like  Psalms,  the  book  of  Proverbs  gives  internal  indication 
that  it  was  a  gradual  growth.  It  is  made  up  of  five  principal 
sections ;  chapters  1-9  consist  of  a  series  of  discourses  hi  praise  of 
wisdom  and  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  book,  30  to  31  form  a 
series  of  appendixes,  and  the  core  of  the  book  is  composed  of  three 
principal  collections  of  aphorisms  —  10-22 16,  22  17-2434,2  25-29. 
That  these  are  distinct  collections  is  indicated  both  by  their 
editorial  headings3  and  by  their  internal  structure. 

The  first  group  contains  375  separate  aphorisms,  all  but  one 
of  which  are  distichs.4  They  deal  with  many  subjects  and 
show  no  orderly  grouping.  In  the  second  section,  there  are 
few  two-member  proverbs;  the  thought  usually  runs  through 
four,  five,  six,  or  more  lines.  In  the  third  collection  distichs  are 
again  numerous,  though  in  no  such  overwhelming  proportion  as  hi 
the  first  group.  That  these  sections  are  themselves  compiled  from 
smaller  collections  is  clear  upon  closer  examination.5  Thus  the 

1  Jeremiah  18  18. 

2  24  23~34,  which  forms  an  appendix  to  22 17-24  M,  might  be  counted  as 
a  fourth  collection ;  it  has  its  own  heading,  "  These  also  are  sayings  of  the 
wise."  »  10  S  22 »«,  25 ». 

4  It  is  probable  that  the  one  tristich  (19 7)  contains  one  half  of  what 
was  originally  the  376th  proverb. 

5  Chapters  10-15  once  formed  a  separate  book  of  antitheses,  and  16- 
22  18,  a  book  characterized  by  synonymous  and  synthetic  parallelism. 
Even  within  these  subordinate  groups,  identical  or  equivalent  couplets 
suggest  smaller  original  collections. 


344  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

book  of  Proverbs  shows  its  marks  of  growth  as  a  slowly  increasing 
treasury  of  national  wisdom.  The  earliest  elements  in  the  book 
may  represent  hoary  antiquity,  but  each  of  the  principal  divisions 
contains  indications  of  post-exilic  elements,  and  probably  no  one  of 
them  was  fully  collected  until  the  Persian  or  early  Greek  times; 
the  book  as  a  whole  seems  to  have  been  completed  by  the  years 
250  to  200  B.C. 

One  of  the  latest  portions  of  the  book  is  the  series  of  discourses 
in  praise  of  wisdom.  Its  opening  paragraph  gives  the  heading  for 
the  entire  book  and  indicates  the  purpose  of  the  type  of  wisdom- 
writing  represented  in  Proverbs. 

To  know  wisdom  and  instruction ; 

To  discern  the  words  of  understanding  ; 

To  receive  instruction  in  wise  dealing, 

In  righteousness  and  justice  and  equity ; 

To  give  prudence  to  the  simple, 

To  the  young  man  knowledge  and  discretion : 

That  the  wise  man  may  hear,  and  increase  in  learning  ; 

And  that  the  man  of  understanding  may  attain  unto  sound  counsels : 

To  understand  a  proverb,  and  a  figure, 

The  words  of  the  wise,  and  their  dark  sayings.1 

The  sages  loved  to  put  their  erudition  into  brief  and  sometimes 
hidden  form ;  the  love  of  riddles  we  can  trace  back  to  the  days  of 
the  judges  in  the  Samson  stories.  Among  early  peoples  generally, 
wisdom  tends  to  assume  proverbial  form;  gnomic  poetry  was 
prevalent  among  the  early  Greeks  as  well  as  with  the  children  of 
the  East.  When  the  multiplication  of  books  becomes  easy  and 
thought  grows  more  complex  and  ramified,  the  gnome  gives  place 
to  prolonged,  connected  discourse.  All  this  concerns  the  form  of 
reflective  writing;  the  introductory  paragraph  suggests  also  the 
purpose.  Prudence  and  righteousness  are  here  intermingled  and 
even  identified.  Such  indentification  is  easy  when  the  belief 
prevails  in  material  rewards  for  moral  and  religious  virtue.  The 
prophets  held  this  belief  on  the  ground  of  faith  in  God's  justice  ; 
the  wise  men  pointed  out  its  working  in  the  natural  course  of  the 
everyday  relationships  of  life,  and  warned  their  hearers  of  the 
physical  consequences  of  sin.  Their  appeal  to  self-interest  has 

1  Proverbs  1 «. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN   THE  GREEK  AGE         345 

its  legitimate  place  and  is  not  necessarily  incompatible  with  virtue 
that  reaches  far  beyond  mere  prudent  respectability. 

A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father  ; 

But  a  foolish  son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother. 

Hatred  stirreth  up  strifes ; 

But  love  covereth  all  transgressions. 

Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence ; 

For  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life.1 

Such  maxims  show  a  certain  consideration  for  others  and  an 
appreciation  of  inner  righteousness.  Of  self-sacrifice,  however,  the 
range  of  thought  hi  the  book  of  Proverbs  takes  no  more  account 
than  Koheleth.  The  higher  law  of  reward,  the  law  of  finding  life 
through  losing,  belongs  to  a  sphere  of  existence  that  Israel's  sages 
did  not  enter.2 

In  the  opening  discourse  we  see  incidentally  where  the  wise  men 
were  wont  to  teach. 

Wisdom  crieth  aloud  hi  the  street; 

She  uttereth  her  voice  in  the  broad  places ; 

She  crieth  hi  the  chief  place  of  concourse ; 

At  the  entrance  of  the  gates, 

In  the  city,  she  uttereth  her  words : 3 

Later  the  indication  is  even  more  explicit. 

Doth  not  wisdom  cry, 

And  understanding  put  forth  her  voice  ? 

On  the  top  of  high  places  by  the  way, 

Where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth ; 

Beside  the  gates,  at  the  entry  of  the  city, 

At  the  coming  in  at  the  doors,  she  crieth  aloud  :* 

The  sages  of  Israel  found  men  where  they  were  congregated  hi 
the  open  air,  and  there  taught  them,  as  the  philosophers  of  Greece 
were  also  accustomed  to  do. 

Like  the  great  teachers  of  Greece  and  like  the  earlier  prophet- 
teachers  of  their  own  race,  Israel's  sages  were  not  without  poetic 

1  Proverbs  10 l-  12,  4  M. 

2  The  later  Rabbi  quoted  in  the  Talmud  and  the  Supreme  Teacher 
emphasized  its  significance. 

1  Proverbs  1 2°-".  «  Ibid. 


346  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

gifts.    They  could  "make  the  ear  an  eye"  with  imaginative, 
realistic,  word-picture. 

My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee, 

Consent  thou  not. 

If  they  say,  Come  with  us, 

Let  us  lay  wait  for  blood ; 

Let  us  lurk  privily  for  the  innocent  without  cause ; 

Let  us  swallow  them  up  alive  as  Sheol, 

And  whole,  as  those  that  g6  down  into  the  pit; 

We  shall  find  all  precious  substance ; 

We  shall  fill  our  houses  with  spoil ; 

Thou  shalt  cast  thy  lot  among  us ; 

We  will  all  have  one  purse : 1 

With  vivid  personification  of  wisdom  and  folly  they  made  their 
appeal  and  warning  attractive  :  Wisdom  standing  beside  the  gates 
at  the  entry  of  the  city,  crieth  aloud. 

Unto  you,  0  men,  I  call ; 

And  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  men. 

Counsel  is  mine,  and  sound  knowledge : 

I  am  understanding ;  I  have  might. 

By  me  kings  reign, 

And  princes  decree  justice. 

By  me  princes  rule, 

And  nobles,  even  all  the  judges  of  the  earth. 

I  love  them  that  love  me ; 

And  those  that  seek  me  diligently  shall  find  me. 

Riches  and  honor  are  with  me ; 

Yea,  durable  wealth  and  righteousness. 

My  fruit  is  better  than  gold,  yea,  than  fine  gold ; 

And  my  revenue  than  choice  silver. 

Jehovah  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way, 

Before  his  works  of  old. 

I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning, 

Before  the  earth  was. 

When  there  were  no  depths,  I  was  brought  forth, 

When  there  were  no  fountains  abounding  with  water. 

Before  the  mountains  were  settled, 

Before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth ; 

1  Proverbs  1  »««*. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN   THE   GREEK  AGE        347 

While  as  yet  he  had  not  made  the  earth,  nor  the  fields, 

Nor  the  beginning  of  the  dust  of  the  world. 

When  he  established  the  heavens,  I  was  there : 

When  he  set  a  circle  upon  the  face  of  the  deep, 

When  he  made  firm  the  skies  above, 

When  the  fountains  of  the  deep  became  strong, 

When  he  gave  to  the  sea  its  bound, 

That  the  waters  should  not  transgress  his  commandment, 

When  he  marked  out  the  foundations  of  the  earth ; 

Then  I  was  by  him,  as  a  master  workman  ; 

And  I  was  daily  his  delight, 

Rejoicing  always  before  him, 

Rejoicing  in  his  habitable  earth ; 

And  my  delight  was  with  the  sons  of  men.1 

In  the  second  section  of  the  book2  each  principal  part  begins:  — 

A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father ; 

But  a  foolish  son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother. 

Treasures  of  wickedness  profit  nothing  ; 

But  righteousness  delivereth  from  death. 

Jehovah  will  not  suffer  the  soul  of  the  righteous  to  famish ; 

But  he  thrusteth  away  the  desire  of  the  wicked. 

He  becometh  poor  that  worketh  with  a  slack  hand  ; 

But  the  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich. 

He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a  wise  son  ; 

But  he  that  sleepeth  in  harvest  is  a  son  that  causeth  shame. 

Blessings  are  upon  the  head  of  the  righteous ; 

But  violence  covereth  the  mouth  of  the  wicked. 

The  memory  of  the  righteous  is  blessed ; 

But  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot.3 

The  plans  of  the  heart  belong  to  man  ; 

But  the  answer  of  the  tongue  is  from  Jehovah. 

All  the  ways  of  a  man  are  clean  in  his  own  eyes ; 

But  Jehovah  weigheth  the  spirits. 

Commit  thy  works  unto  Jehovah. 

And  thy  purposes  shall  be  established. 

Jehovah  hath  made  everything  for  its  own  end ; 

Yea,  even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of  evil. 

Every  one  that  is  proud  in  heart  is  an  abomination  to  Jehovah: 

1  Proverbs  8 4-  "-19-  22~31.  2  Ibid.  10-22  16.  « Ibid.  10 »-». 


348  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Though  hand  join  in  hand,  he  shall  not  be  unpunished. 

By  mercy  and  truth  iniquity  is  atoned  for ; 

And  by  the  fear  of  Jehovah  men  depart  from  evil. 

When  a  man's  ways  please  Jehovah, 

He  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him.1 

The  third  collection  of  aphorisms 2  is  a  supplement  to  the  first 
principal  collection,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  "sayings  of 
the  wise"3  were  inserted  between  the  two  groups  of  proverbs 
which  are  ascribed  to  Solomon.4  This  collection  of  miscellaneous 
wisdom  shows  a  highly  conventionalized  development  in  the  form 
of  the  sages'  teaching.  First  there  is  an  effective  hortatory 
introduction  in  which  synonymous  couplets  are  combined  in 
synthetic  relation  —  a  form  of  parallelism  which  prevails  through- 
out the  section.  The  introduction  reads :  — 

Incline  thine  ear,  and  hear  the  words  of  the  wise, 

And  apply  thy  heart  unto  my  knowledge. 

For  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  if  thou  keep  them  within  thee, 

If  they  be  established  together  upon  thy  lips. 

That  thy  trust  may  be  in  Jehovah, 

I  have  made  them  known  to  thee  this  day,  even  to  thee. 

Have  not  I  written  unto  thee  excellent  things 

Of  counsels  and  knowledge, 

To  make  thee  know  the  certainty  of  the  words  of  truth, 

That  thou  mayest  carry  back  words  of  truth  to  them  that  send  thee  ? B 

1  Proverbs  16  *~7.  2  Chapters  25-29.  « Ibid.  22  "-24. 

4  Solomon  stood  in  much  the  same  relation  to  Israel's  philosophical 
literature  that  David  did  to  the  nation's  psalmody.  His  contemporaries 
were  deeply  impressed  by  his  wisdom ;  the  one  definite  example  preserved 
in  early  tradition,  his  judgment  between  the  two  mothers,  shows  a  kind  of 
shrewdness  that  would  strongly  appeal  to  simple-minded  people.  The 
story  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  has  it  that  Solomon  was  able  to  answer  all 
her  riddles  (the  same  Hebrew  word  that  is  used  in  Proverbs  1 6),  and  a 
probably  late  tradition  ascribes  to  him  3000  proverbs  and  1005  songs, 
specifying  that  he  spoke  of  plants  and  animals.  Ancient  proverb  makers 
frequently  used  the  habits  of  plants  and  animals  to  illustrate  their  teach- 
ings, but  this  practice  is  not  characteristic  of  the  sayings  ascribed  to  Solo- 
mon in  Proverbs.  In  the  book  of  Proverbs,  it  is  impossible  to  select  any 
specific  word  as  Solomon's,  though  some  of  his  sayings  may  well  be  in- 
cluded. B  Proverbs  22 17^. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN  THE  GREEK  AGE        349 

The  sayings  themselves  begin:  — 

Rob  not  the  poor,  because  he  is  poor  ; 
Neither  oppress  the  afflicted  in  the  gate : 
For  Jehovah  will  plead  their  cause, 
And  despoil  of  life  those  that  despoil  them. 

Make  no  friendship  with  a  man  that  is  given  to  anger ; 
And  with  a  wrathful  man  thou  shalt  not  go : 
Lest  thou  learn  his  ways, 
And  get  a  snare  to  thy  soul. 

Be  thou  not  one  of  them  that  strike  hands, 

Or  of  them  that  are  sureties  for  debts. 

If  thou  hast  not  wherewith  to  pay, 

Why  should  he  take  away  thy  bed  from  under  thee  ? l 

Here  and  in  the  following  collection  there  have  been  preserved 
some  quaint  poems  on  manners  and  morals.  Especially  delight- 
ful is:  — 

THE  FIELD  OF  THE  SLUGGARD 

I  went  by  the  field  of  the  sluggard, 

And  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void  of  understanding ; 

And,  lo,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns, 

The  face  thereof  was  covered  with  nettles, 

And  the  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  down. 

Then  I  beheld,  and  considered  well ; 

I  saw,  and  received  instruction : 

Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 

A  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep  ; 

So  shall  thy  poverty  come  as  a  robber, 

And  thy  want  as  an  armed  man.2 

The  same  general  theme  occurs  in  the  companion  poems  of  chapter 
6  and  27. 

Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard ; 

Consider  her  ways,  and  be  wise : 

Which  having  no  chief, 

Overseer,  or  ruler, 

Provideth  her  bread  in  the  summer, 

And  gathereth  her  food  in  the  harvest. 

1  Proverbs  22 2!M7.  »  Ibid.  24  3°-M. 


350  THE   LITERATURE   OF   ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

How  long  wilt  thou  sleep,  0  sluggard  ? 
When  wilt  thou  arise  out  of  thy  sleep  ? 
Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 
A  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep  : 
So  shall  thy  poverty  come  as  a  robber, 
And  thy  want  as  an  armed  man.1 

Be  thou  diligent  to  know  the  state  of  thy  flocks, 

And  look  well  to  thy  herds : 

For  riches  are  not  for  ever ; 

And  doth  the  crown  endure  unto  all  generations  ? 

The  hay  is  carried,  and  the  tender  grass  showeth  itself, 

And  the  herbs  of  the  mountains  are  gathered  in. 

The  lambs  are  for  thy  clothing, 

And  the  goats  are  the  price  of  the  field ; 

And  there  will  be  goats'  milk  enough  for  thy  food,  for  the  food  of  thy 

household, 

And  maintenance  for  thy  maidens.2 
In  the  second  collection  also  there  occurs  the  poem  on 

THE  WINEBIBBER 

Who  hath  woe  ?  who  hath  sorrow  ?  who  hath  contentions  ? 

Who  hath  complaining  ?  who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ? 

Who  hath  redness  of  eyes  ? 

They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine ; 

They  that  go  to  seek  out  mixed  wine. 

Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 

When  it  sparkleth  in  the  cup, 

When  it  goeth  down  smoothly : 

At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent, 

And  stingeth  like  an  adder. 

Thine  eyes  shall  behold  strange  things, 

And  thy  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things. 

Yea,  thou  shalt  be  as  he  that  lieth  down  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, ; 

Or  as  he  that  lieth  upon  the  top  of  a  mast. 

They  have  stricken  me,  shalt  thou  say,  and  I  was  not  hurt ; 

They  have  beaten  me,  and  I  felt  it  not : 

When  shall  I  awake  ?    I  will  seek  it  yet  again.3 

1  Proverbs  6  •-".  2  Ibid. 23^7. 

3  Proverbs  23  29~36.     This  song  may  be  commended  to  the  advocates  of 
realism  in  contrast  to  the  mendacious  praises  of  wine  that  are  usually  sung. 


WISDOM   LITERATURE   IN  THE  GREEK  AGE         351 

The  appended  chapters1  contain  some  curious  fragments  of 
wisdom  literature.  At  the  beginning,  Agur  the  son  of  Jakeh  is 
sarcastic  toward  those  who,  like  the  friends  of  Job,  claim  knowl- 
edge of  God's  ways. 

Surely  I  am  more  brutish  than  any  man, 

And  have  not  the  understanding  of  a  man ; 

And  I  have  not  learned  wisdom, 

Neither  have  I  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy  One. 

Who  hath  ascended  up  into  heaven,  and  descended  ? 

Who  hath  gathered  the  wind  in  his  fists  ? 

Who  hath  bound  the  waters  in  his  garment  ? 

Who  hath  established  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ? 

What  is  his  name,  and  what  is  his  son's  name,  if  thou  knowest  ? 2 

The  prayer  that  may  be  Agur's 3  is  marked  by  homely  wisdom 
advocating  the  doctrine  of  the  mean  in  nobler  example  than  hi 
the  instance  noted  hi  Ecclesiastes.4 

Two  things  have  I  asked  of  thee ; 

Deny  me  them  not  before  I  die  : 

Remove  far  from  me  falsehood  and  lies ; 

Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches ; 

Feed  me  with  the  food  that  is  needful  for  me : 

Lest  I  be  full,  and  deny  thee,  and  say,  Who  is  Jehovah? 

Or  lest  I  be  poor,  and  steal, 

And  use  profanely  the  name  of  my  God.5 

The  curious  tetrads  of  this  first  appendix 6  suggest  the  form  of 
Amos :  — 

For  three  transgressions  of  Damascus, 

Yea  for  four,  etc. 

There  are  three  things  which  are  too  wonderful  for  me, 

Yea,  four  which  I  know  not.? 

The  form  was  no  doubt  an  ancient,  conventional  mode  of  ex- 
pressing effectively  an  indefinite  number ;  a  modification  occurs  in 
Proverbs  6 16. 

There  are  six  things  which  Jehovah  hateth ; 
Yea,  seven  which  are  an  abomination  unto  him. 

1  Proverbs  30-31.  2  Ibid.  30  M. 

3  We  cannot  be  certain  whether  the  editor  intended  to  ascribe  the 
entire  chapter  to  Agur.  *  See  p.  339. 

5  Proverbs  30  7~9.  •  Ibid.  30 15b-31.  7  Ibid.  30  18. 


352  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

The  purpose  was  partly  at  least  mnemonic,1  though  in  Amos  the 
familiar  form  was  used  for  rhetorical  purposes. 

The  words  ascribed  to  Lemuel,  a  King,  as  taught  him  by  his 
mother 2  offer  negative  and  positive  advice  for  those  in  positions  of 
authority.  The  positive  injunctions  are  fine  ! 

Open  thy  mouth  for  the  dumb, 

In  the  cause  of  all  such  as  are  left  desolate. 

Open  thy  mouth,  judge  righteously, 

And  minister  justice  to  the  poor  and  needy.8 

The  negative  are  no  less  significant  in  their  demand  that  the  King 
must  avoid  lust  and  intemperance  which  pervert  just  judgment. 

Give  not  thy  strength  unto  women, 

Nor  thy  ways  to  that  which  destroyeth  kings. 

It  is  not  for  kings,  0  Lemuel,  it  is  not  for  kings  to  drink  wine  ; 

Nor  for  princes  to  say,  Where  is  strong  drink  ? 

Lest  they  drink,  and  forget  the  law, 

And  pervert  the  justice  due  to  any  that  is  afflicted.4 

The  book  of  proverbs  closes  with  an  alphabetic  ode  in  praise  of 
the  ideal  housewife.6  Cheyne  writes  in  regard  to  it :  — 

"It  is  very  interesting  to  see  the  ideal  of  womanhood  formed  by  a  late 
Hebrew  poet.  Activity  appears  to  him  the  one  great  feminine  virtue  — 
not,  however,  the  activity  which  is  entirely  devoted  to  trifling  details,  for 
the  ideal  woman  'is  like  the  ships  of  the  merchant;  from  far  she  brings 
her  food.'  Nor  is  she  a  stranger  to  sympathetic  impulses:  'she  holds 
out  her  hand  ...  to  the  afflicted,  and  stretcheth  forth  her  hands  to 
the  needy.'  .  .  .  Nor  must  we  forget  'one  of  the  most  beautiful  features 
of  the  portrait':  'she  opens  her  mouth  with  wisdom,  and  a  law  of  kind- 
ness is  on  her  tongue.'"6 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  third  century  before  Christ, 
when  the  book  of  Proverbs  was  growing  into  its  final  form,  Judea 

1  The  Jewish  pupil  learned  natural  history  or  moral  precepts  by  devices 
similar  to  those  by  which  we  fix  the  number  of  days  in  the  successive 

months :  — 

Thirty  days  hath  September, 
April,  June,  and  November ;  etc. 

2  Proverbs  31 1-».  s  Ibid.  31  8~9.  4  Ibid.  31  "-5. 
5  Ibid.  31 10~31.                                                                 6  Job  and  Solomon. 


WISDOM  LITERATURE  IN  THE  GREEK  AGE         353 

was  subject  to  the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt.  The  Seleucid  rulers  of 
Antioch  made  frequent  efforts  to  secure  control  of  the  land  but 
did  not  meet  with  permanent  success  until  198,  when  Antiochus  III 
("The  Great")  attached  all  Palestine  to  the  Kingdom  of  Syria. 
The  next  few  years  were  peaceful  and  happy  ones  for  the  Jewish 
community;  it  was  at  this  time,  between  198  and  175  B.C.,  that 
Jesus  ben-Sirach  wrote  "somewhat  pertaining  to  instruction  and 
wisdom ;  in  order  that  those  who  love  learning  and  are  addicted 
to  these  things  might  make  progress  much  more  by  living  according 
to  the  law."1  The  book  that  he  produced  was  translated  into 
Greek  by  his  grandson,  while  living  in  Egypt,  and  came  to  be 
included  among  the  sacred  books  of  the  Alexandrian  Jews;2  it 
has  come  down  to  us  under  the  name  Ecclesiasticus.3 

The  general  observations  of  Ben-Sirach  do  not  concern  them- 
selves with  problems  more  perplexing  than  the  best  way  to  get 
along  smoothly  and  honestly  in  the  world  as  it  is. 

My  son,  go  on  with  thy  business  in  meekness  ; 

So  shalt  thou  be  beloved  of  an  acceptable  man. 

The  greater  thou  art,  humble  thyself  the  more, 

And  thou  shalt  find  favour  before  the  Lord. 

For  great  is  the  potency  of  the  Lord, 

And  he  is  glorified  of  them  that  are  lowly. 

Seek  not  things  that  are  too  hard  for  thee, 

And  search  not  out  things  that  are  above  thy  strength. 

The  things  that  have  been  commanded  thee,  think  thereupon ; 

For  thou  hast  no  need  of  the  things  that  are  secret. 

Be  not  over  busy  in  thy  superfluous  works ; 

For  more  things  are  shewed  unto  thee  than  men  can  understand.4 

Be  not  hasty  in  thy  tongue, 
And  in  thy  deeds  slack  and  remiss. 
Be  not  as  a  lion  in  thy  house, 
Nor  fanciful  among  thy  servants. 

1  Prologue  written  in  Egypt  by  the  grandson  of  Ben-Sirach,  soon  after 
132  B.C. 

2  It  is  thus  one  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha ;    i.e. 
those  books  that  were  included  in  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Scriptures, 
but  excluded  from  the  Hebrew  canon. 

3  That  is,  suitable  to  be  read  in  churches. 

4  Ecclesiasticus  3 "-».     This  and  the  following  extracts  are  taken  from 
the  British  revised  version  of  the  Apocrypha. 

2A 


354  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

Let  not  thine  hand  be  stretched  out  to  receive,  and  closed  when 
thou  shouldest  repay.1 

Set  not  thine  heart  upon  unrighteous  gains  ; 

For  thou  shalt  profit  nothing  in  the  day  of  calamity, 

Winnow  not  with  every  wind, 

And  walk  not  in  every  path : 

Thus  doeth  the  sinner  that  hath  a  double  tongue. 

Be  steadfast  in  thy  understanding; 

And  let  thy  word  be  one. 

Be  swift  to  hear ; 

And  with  patience  make  thine  answer. 

If  thou  hast  understanding,  answer  thy  neighbour; 

And  if  not,  let  thy  hand  be  upon  thy  mouth. 

Glory  and  dishonour  is  in  talk : 

And  the  tongue  of  a  man  is  his  fall. 

Be  not  called  a  whisperer; 

And  lie  not  in  wait  with  thy  tongue : 

For  upon  the  thief  there  is  shame, 

And  an  evil  condemnation  upon  him  that  hath  a  double  tongue.* 

Sweet  words  will  multiply  a  man's  friends ; 

And  a  fair-speaking  tongue  will  multiply  courtesies. 

Let  those  that  are  at  peace  with  thee  be  many; 

But  thy  counsellors  one  of  a  thousand. 

If  thou  wouldst  get  thee  a  friend,  get  him  by  proving, 

And  be  not  in  haste  to  trust  him. 

For  there  is  a  friend  that  is  so  for  his  own  occasion; 

And  he  will  not  continue  in  the  day  of  thy  affliction. 

And  there  is  a  friend  that  turneth  to  enmity, 

And  he  will  discover  strife  to  thy  reproach.3 

If  a  mighty  man  invite  thee,  be  retiring, 
And  so  much  the  more  will  he  invite  thee. 
Press  not  upon  him,  lest  thou  be  thrust  back ; 
And  stand  not  far  off,  lest  thou  be  forgotten.4 

From  this  writer's  incidental  allusions  it  is  possible  to  form  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  conditions  of  Jewish  life  in  the  opening  years 
of  the  second  century  before  our  era.  The  various  handicrafts 
of  the  time  are  described  at  some  length  in  chapter  38:  — 

1  Ecclesiasticus  4  &-*1.  2  Ibid.  5  "-14. 

8  Ibid.  6  8-9.  *  Ibid.  13  9-10. 


WISDOM  LITERATURE  IN  THE  GREEK  AGE          355 

The  wisdom  of  the  scribe  cometh  by  opportunity  of  leisure ; 

And  he  that  hath  little  business  shall  become  wise. 

How  shall  he  become  wise  that  holdeth  the  plough, 

That  glorieth  in  the  shaft  of  the  goad, 

That  driveth  oxen,  and  is  occupied  in  their  labours, 

And  whose  discourse  is  of  the  stock  of  bulls  ? 

He  will  set  his  heart  upon  turning  his  furrows ; 

And  his  wakefulness  is  to  give  his  heifers  their  fodder. 

So  is  every  artificer  and  workmaster, 

That  passeth  his  time  by  night  as  by  day ; 

They  that  cut  gravings  of  signets, 

And  his  diligence  is  to  make  great  variety ; 

He  will  set  his  heart  to  preserve  likeness  hi  his  protraiture, 

And  will  be  wakeful  to  finish  his  work. 

So  is  the  smith  sitting  by  the  anvil, 

And  considering  the  unwrought  iron : 

The  vapour  of  the  fire  will  waste  his  flesh ; 

And  in  the  heat  of  the  furnace  will  he  wrestle  with  his  work : 

The  noise  of  the  hammer  will  be  ever  in  his  ear, 

And  his  eyes  are  upon  the  pattern  of  the  vessel ; 

He  will  set  his  heart  upon  perfecting  his  works, 

And  he  will  be  wakeful  to  adorn  them  perfectly. 

So  is  the  potter  sitting  at  his  work, 

And  turning  the  wheel  about  with  his  feet, 

Who  is  alway  anxiously  set  at  his  work. 

And  all  his  handy  work  is  by  number ; 

He  will  fashion  the  clay  with  his  arm. 

And  will  bend  its  strength  in  front  of  his  feet ; 

He  will  apply  his  heart  to  finish  the  glazing ; 

And  he  will  be  wakeful  to  make  clean  the  furnace.1 

Ben-Sirach  goes  on  to  recognize  the  useful  and  necessary  function 
of  skilled  artisans  in  the  body  politic:  — 

All  these  put  then*  trust  in  their  hands ; 

And  each  becometh  wise  in  his  own  work. 

Without  these  shall  not  a  city  be  inhabited, 

And  men  shall  not  sojourn  nor  walk  up  and  down  therein.2 

He  speaks  with  the  superiority  of  the  intellectual  aristocrat:  — 
» Ecclesiasticus  38  "-30.  2  Ibid.  38  81-»2. 


356  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

And  in  the  assembly  they  shall  not  mount  on  high  ; 

They  shall  not  sit  on  the  seat  of  the  judge, 

And  they  shall  not  understand  the  covenant  of  judgment: 

Neither  shall  they  declare  instruction  and  judgment ; 

And  where  parables  are  they  shall  not  be  found. 

But  they  will  maintain  the  fabric  of  the  world ; 

And  in  the  handywork  of  their  craft  is  their  prayer. 

Not  so  he  that  hath  applied  his  soul, 

And  meditateth  in  the  law  of  the  Most  High  ; 

He  will  seek  out  the  wisdom  of  all  the  ancients, 

And  will  be  occupied  in  prophecies. 

He  will  keep  the  discourse  of  the  men  of  renown, 

And  will  enter  in  amidst  the  subtilties  of  parables. 

He  will  seek  out  the  hidden  meaning  of  proverbs, 

And  be  conversant  in  the  dark  sayings  of  parables. 

He  will  serve  among  great  men, 

And  appear  before  him  that  ruleth  : 

He  will  travel  through  the  land  of  strange  nations ; 

For  he  hath  tried  good  things  and  evil  among  men. 

He  will  apply  his  heart  to  resort  early  to  the  Lord  that  made  him, 

And  will  make  supplication  before  the  Most  High, 

And  will  open  his  mouth  in  prayer, 

And  will  make  supplication  for  his  sins.1 

Earlier  in  the  same  chapter,  the  honorable  service  of  the  physi- 
cian is  discussed  at  length. 

Honour  a  physician  according  to  thy  need  of  him  with  the  honours 

due  unto  him : 

For  verily  the  Lord  hath  created  him. 
The  skill  of  the  physician  shall  lift  up  his  head ; 
And  in  the  sight  of  great  men  he  shall  be  admired. 
The  Lord  created  medicines  out  of  the  earth ; 
And  a  prudent  man  will  have  no  disgust  at  them.2 

The  function  of  the  apothecary  is  closely  associated  with  that 
of  the  physician. 

1  Ecclesiasticus  38  83-39 B. 

2  Ibid.  38 x.  3~4.     The  idea,  still  regnant  in  the  early  nineteenth  century 
A.D.,  that  the  more  nauseous  the  concoction  the  more  efficient,  must 
have  prevailed  in  that  day. 


WISDOM  LITERATURE  IN  THE  GREEK]  AGE         357 

With  these  will  the  apothecary  make  a  confection ; 
And  his  works  shall  not  be  brought  to  an  end ; 
And  from  him  is  peace  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.1 

This  paragraph  ends  with  a  quirk,  suggesting  that,  after  all,  the 
physician  is  a  necessary  evil  in  a  wicked  world. 

He  that  sinneth  before  his  Maker, 

Let  him  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  physician.2 

The  disrepute  of  mercantile  pursuits  that  prevailed  in  the 
economic  thought  of  Europe  down  to  a  recent  date  is  suggested 
in  Ben-Sirach. 

A  merchant  shall  hardly  keep  himself  from  wrong  doing ; 
And  a  huckster  shall  not  be  acquitted  of  sin.3 

The  inherent  difficulty  of  free  social  intercourse  between  those 
differing  widely  in  wealth,  a  difficulty  that  political  equality  has 
proved  powerless  to  overcome,  is  interestingly  set  forth. 

Take  not  up  a  burden  above  thy  strength ; 

And  have  no  fellowship  with  one  that  is  mightier  and  richer  than  thyself. 

What  fellowship  shall  the  earthen  pot  have  with  the  kettle  ? 

This  shall  smite,  and  that  shall  be  dashed  in  pieces. 

Hath  he  had  need  of  thee  ?  then  he  will  deceive  thee, 

And  smile  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  hope : 

He  will  speak  thee  fair,  and  say,  What  needst  thou  ? 

And  he  will  shame  thee  by  his  meats, 

Until  he  have  made  thee  bare  twice  or  thrice, 

And  at  the  last  he  will  laugh  thee  to  scorn : 

Afterward  will  he  see  thee,  and  will  forsake  thee, 

And  shake  his  head  at  thee.4 

Corruption  and  bribery  add  their  factitious  element  hi  creating 
advantages  for  the  rich  and  putting  the  poor  at  disadvantage. 

Contend  not  with  a  mighty  man, 

Lest  haply  thou  fall  into  his  hands. 

Strive  not  with  a  rich  man,  lest  haply  he  overweigh  thee : 

For  gold  hath  destroyed  many, 

And  turned  aside  the  hearts  of  kings.5 

1  Ecclesiasticus  38 8.  2  Ibid.  38 IS. 

» Ibid.  26 29.  «  Ibid.  13  «.  •-».  5  Ibid.  8  «. 


358  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

All  these  and  many  other  aspects  of  the  intimate  life  of  the  age 
are  open  to  one  who  cares  to  view  them  through  the  shrewd  and 
kindly  eyes  of  Ben-Siracb. 

The  book  is  a  natural  sequel  to  the  great  gnomic  anthology, 
Proverbs;  throughout,  the  same  theory  of  rewards  prevails  and 
the  same  motives  of  self-interest  are  urged.  At  times,  counsel 
seems  prompted  by  generous  thought  of  others,  but  usually 
consideration  of  personal  advantage  enters  before  the  paragraph 
is  finished.  Generally  the  connection  of  thought  extends  through 
several  couplets,  or  a  considerable  section,  as  in  the  "sayings  of 
the  wise"  and  the  appendixes  in  the  book  of  Proverbs;  occasion- 
ally we  come  upon  terse  aphorisms  like  those  in  the  Solomonic 
sections  of  Proverbs.  One  would  need  to  be  very  familiar  with 
the  contents  of  the  earlier  writing  to  distinguish  some  sections  of 
Ecclesiasticus  from  the  book  of  Proverbs.  Even  the  numerical 
form  of  proverb  appears. 

Of  three  things  my  heart  was  afraid ; 

And  concerning  the  fourth  kind  I  made  supplication : 

The  slander  of  a  city,  and  the  assembly  of  a  multitude,  and  a  false 

accusation : 
All  these  are  more  grievous  than  death.1 

Beginning  with  chapter  44,  there  is  a  long  section  in  praise  of 
famous  men,  quite  different  from  anything  in  earlier  books.  The 
list  commences  with  Enoch  who  "pleased  the  Lord  and  was 
translated"  and  proceeds  on  its  unimpassioned  way  through 
Noah,  Abraham,  and  their  successors.  After  this  comes  a  brief 
conclusion  for  the  book  (SO27"29),  followed  by  an  appended  "  prayer 
of  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,"  which  proves  a  psalm  of  thanksgiving. 
At  its  conclusion,  the  writer  tells  how  in  his  youth  he  prayed  for 
wisdom,  before  the  temple,  and  appeals  to  the  unlearned  to  draw 
near 

And  lodge  in  the  house  of  instruction. 

1  Ecclesiasticus  26 6. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE 

Song  of  Songs  and  Psalms 
(832  to  168  B.C.) 

IN  strongest  contrast  to  the  didactic  gnomes  and  songs  of  the 
sages,  who  nourished  in  the  Greek  age  of  Jewish  history,  is  the  love- 
lyric  of  the  same  era.  Fortunately  for  our  knowledge  of  Jewish 
literature,  the  fanciful  interpretation  given  to  early  writings 
among  the  Jews  at  the  close  of  the  first  century  A.D.  led  them  to 
regard  the  Song  of  Songs  as  an  allegory  representing  the  love  of 
God  and  Israel.  With  such  interpretation  this  book,  in  90  A.D., 
secured  final  recognition  in  the  third  division  of  the  Hebrew  canon, 
and  thus  escaped  the  oblivion  which  it  could  so  easily  have  found 
along  with  the  other  love  songs  of  ancient  Israel. 

Post-exilic  Judaism,  which  gradually  selected  that  portion  of 
the  nation's  literature  forming  the  canon,  was  not  primarily 
interested  hi  ancient  literature  as  literature.  The  Psalter  might 
preserve  a  royal  marriage  hymn,1  but  its  character  as  the  temple 
hymnal  excluded  from  its  treasures  most  lyrics  of  human  love. 
Isaiah  might  sing  in  the  gay  measure  of  the  love  songs  familiar 
to  his  hearers  and  catch  their  dull  ears  for  his  parable  of  doom; 
but  the  love  song  was  never  finished.  David's  lament  might 
preserve  noblest  expression  of  ideal  love  between  man  and  man, 
or  the  poem  in  praise  of  a  worthy  woman 2  give  admirable  descrip- 
tion of  the  wife  approved  by  an  aged  philosopher,  but  song's 
great  prompter  through  the  ages,  the  rapturous  love  of  youth  and 
maid,  was  almost  excluded  from  the  poetry  preserved  by  ancient 
Israel. 

The  treasured  prose  was  richer  in  this  element.  The  narrative 
of  one  who  served  seven  years  for  his  bride,  "and  they  seemed 

1  Psalm  45,  see  p.  136.  2  Proverbs,  31 1~». 

359 


360  THE  LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

unto  him  but  a  few  days  for  the  love  he  had  to  her" ;  the  story 
of  David  and  Abigail  with  its  own  deep,  strong  charm ;  that  of 
Ruth  and  Boaz  are  unexcelled  in  any  literature.  Apart  from  the 
Song  of  Songs  then,  true  human  love  finds  some  measure  of  just 
recognition  in  the  extant  literature;  this  book  lifts  the  curtain 
high  enough  to  let  us  see  what  the  love  songs  of  the  folk  were  like. 

Thus  far  literary  interpretation  may  go  to-day  without  much 
dispute ;  it  is  when  we  try  to  say  whether  the  Song  of  Songs  is 
one  connected  poem  or  not,  that  we  find  interpreters  dividing. 
For  a  time  after  unnatural  interpretations  had  been  abandoned, 
the  book  was  regarded  as  a  collection  of  separate  love  songs; 
then  the  view  prevailed  that  the  whole  formed  a  dramatic  poem, 
with  two  principal  characters,  Solomon  and  a  beautiful  rustic 
maiden  from  northern  Israel  who  had  been  brought  to  the  King's 
harem.  This  theory  failed  to  solve  the  poem  and  it  was  seen 
that  there  must  be  another  leading  character  recognized,  a  rustic 
lover  to  whom  the  maiden  had  plighted  her  troth  and  to  whom 
her  heart  was  so  true  that  the  splendors  of  the  court  had  no 
charms  for  her.  In  the  presence  of  the  King  she  was  sad  and 
abstracted,  thinking,  when  he  praised  her  charms,  only  of  the 
absent  lover;  of  him  she  dreamed  by  night  and  mused  by  day. 
At  length,  Solomon  gave  up  in  despair  and  let  the  faithful  one 
return  in  her  virgin  purity  to  her  shepherd  lover  in  the  north. 

This  theory  won  strong  advocates,  but  meets  great  difficulties. 
At  one  time  in  the  middle  of  the  poem,  it  seems  as  though  the 
rural  lover  were  with  the  heroine ;  this  cannot  be,  except  as  it 
represents  her  imaginings,  and  there  is  much  besides  that  requires 
most  ingenious  explanation  to  fit  any  such  theory.  If  this  poem 
were  truly  a  drama,  it  would  be  the  one  example  preserved  of 
ancient  Semitic  dramatic  art,  otherwise  unknown. 

The  dramatic  theory  was  succeeded  by  another  interpretation 
which  for  a  time  seemed  destined  to  possess  the  field.  The 
German  consul  at  Damascus,  J.  G.  Wetzstein,  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  among  Arabs  east  of  the  Jordan  and  Lebanons  there 
are  still  songs  quite  similar  to  parts  of  this  book,  connected  with 
an  interesting  custom  of  the  peasants.  When  a  wedding  occurs, 
on  the  marriage  evening  the  bride  displays  her  grace  and  agility, 
by  the  light  of  the  leaping  flames  of  a  fire,  brandishing  a  sword  in 


LYRIC   POETRY   OF   THE   GREEK  AGE  361 

one  hand  and  holding  a  handkerchief  in  the  other,  while  she 
dances.  She  is  accompanied  by  a  double  chorus  of  men  and 
women,  and  the  praise  of  her  beauty  of  form  and  dress  is  sung  with 
a  frank  simplicity  that  would  offend  occidental  standards  of  taste. 
Such  a  chorus  would  be  Song  of  Songs  71"6. 

How  beautiful  are  thy  feet  in  sandals,  0  prince's  daughter ! 

Thy  rounded  thighs  are  like  jewels, 

The  work  of  the  hands  of  a  skilful  workman. 

Thy  body  is  like  a  round  goblet, 

Wherein  no  mingled  wine  is  wanting : 

Thy  waist  is  like  a  heap  of  wheat 

Set  about  with  lilies. 

Thy  two  breasts  are  like  two  fawns 

That  are  twins  of  a  roe. 

Thy  neck  is  like  the  tower  of  ivory ; 

Thine  eyes  as  the  pools  in  Heshbon, 

By  the  gates  of  Bathrabbim  ; 

Thy  nose  is  like  the  tower  of  Lebanon 

Which  looketh  toward  Damascus. 

Thy  head  upon  thee  is  like  Carmel, 

And  the  hair  of  thy  head  li ke  purple ; 

The  king  is  held  captive  in  the  tresses  thereof. 

How  fair  and  how  pleasant  art  thou, 

0  love,  for  delights ! 

For  a  week  after  marriage  the  festivities  go  forward ;  the  bride 
and  groom  are  addressed  as  queen  and  king  and  are  served  by  their 
village  friends.  The  first  morning  they  go  in  royal  procession  to 
the  threshing  floor  where  the  king  and  queen  are  placed  upon  a 
raised  platform  furnished  with  cushions;  a  song  such  as  that  of 
3  6~n  might  describe  the  procession  to  the  threshing  floor,  or  might 
be  used  on  the  previous  day,  when  the  bridegroom  came  up  to  the 
wedding. 

Who  is  this  that  cometh  up  from  the  wilderness 

Like  pillars  of  smoke, 

Perfumed  with  myrrh  and  frankincense, 

With  all  powders  of  the  merchant  ? 

Behold,  it  is  the  litter  of  Solomon  ; 

Threescore  mighty  men  are  about  it, 

Of  the  mighty  men  of  Israel. 


362  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

They  all  handle  the  sword,  and  are  expert  in  war : 

Every  man  hath  his  sword  upon  his  thigh, 

Because  of  fear  in  the  night. 

King  Solomon  made  himself  a  palanquin 

Of  the  wood  of  Lebanon. 

He  made  the  pillars  thereof  of  silver, 

The  bottom  thereof  of  gold,  the  seat  of  it  of  purple, 

The  midst  thereof  being  paved  with  love, 

From  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

Go  forth,  0  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and  behold  king  Solomon, 

With  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother  hath  crowned  him 

In  the  day  of  his  espousals, 

And  in  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart. 

Arrived  at  the  threshing  floor,  the  morning  after  the  wedding,  the 
groom  may  sing  the  praises  of  his  bride  as  in  4  *~4 :  — 

Behold,  thou  art  fair,  my  love ;  behold,  thou  art  fair ; 

Thine  eyes  are  as  doves  behind  thy  veil. 

Thy  hair  is  as  a  flock  of  goats, 

That  lie  along  the  side  of  mount  Gilead. 

Thy  teeth  are  like  a  flock  of  ewes  that  are  newly  shorn, 

Which  are  come  up  from  the  washing, 

Whereof  every  one  hath  twins, 

And  none  is  bereaved  among  them. 

Thy  lips  are  like  a  thread  of  scarlet, 

And  thy  mouth  is  comely. 

Thy  temples  are  like  a  piece  of  a  pomegranate 

Behind  thy  veil. 

Thy  neck  is  like  the  tower  of  David 

Builded  for  an  armory, 

Whereon  there  hang  a  thousand  bucklers, 

All  the  shields  of  the  mighty  men. 

She  may  sing  in  praise  of  him  such  an  encomium  as :  — 

My  beloved  is  white  and  ruddy, 

The  chief est  among  ten  thousand. 

His  head  is  as  the  most  fine  gold ; 

His  locks  are  bushy,  and  black  as  a  raven. 

His  eyes  are  like  doves  beside  the  water-brooks, 

Washed  with  milk,  and  fitly  set. 

His  cheeks  are  as  a  bed  of  spices, 


LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE      363 

As  banks  of  sweet  herbs  : 

His  lips  are  as  lilies,  dropping  liquid  myrrh. 

His  hands  are  as  rings  of  gold  set  with  beryl : 

His  body  is  as  ivory  work  overlaid  with  sapphires. 

His  legs  are  as  pillars  of  marble,  set  upon  sockets  of  fine  gold : 

His  aspect  is  like  Lebanon,  excellent  as  the  cedars. 

His  mouth  is  most  sweet ; 

Yea,  he  is  altogether  lovely. 

This  is  my  beloved,  and  this  is  my  friend.1 

The  theory  as  worked  out  and  given  currency,  especially  by 
Budde,  was  that  in  the  Song  of  Songs  we  have  a  collection  of  the 
songs  used  in  connection  with  such  festivities,  assumed  to  have 
prevailed  anciently  in  Judea,  as  they  now  do  east  of  the  Jordan. 
The  songs  of  our  book  are  confessedly  not  in  the  order  of  the 
festivities  and  an  editorial  hand  must  be  assumed,  putting  hi  por- 
tions here  and  there  and  giving  some  connection  to  the  whole.2 

While  parts  of  the  book  may  be  made  up  of  folk-songs  arising  in 
connection  with  some  such  customs  as  those  described,  the  whole 
has  a  greater  unity  than  seems  compatible  with  this  explanation  of 
its  origin.  As  the  advocates  of  the  dramatic  theory  saw,  it  tells 
a  story,  although  with  no  such  rigid  dramatic  structure  as  they 
worked'  out.  It  is  not,  then,  in  its  present  form,  a  collection  of 
poems  to  be  sung  in  connection  with  the  festivities  of  the  marriage 
week ;  rather  a  succession  of  lyrics  that,  albeit  with  some  obscurity, 
tell  a  fairly  intelligible  tale  of  true  love  that  is  faithful  despite  the 
proffer  of  worldly  splendor,  and  that  ultimately  is  consummated 
in  a  happy  marriage  with  the  rustic  lover ;  with  him,  near  the 
close,  the  maiden  is  seen  coming  up  from  the  wilderness. 

Who  is  this  that  cometh  up  from  the  wilderness, 
Leaning  upon  her  beloved  ? 
Under  the  apple-tree  I  awakened  thee : 
There  thy  mother  was  in  travail  with  thee, 
There  was  she  in  travail  that  brought  thee  forth. 
Set  me  as  a  seal  upon  thy  heart, 

1  Song  of  Songs  5 10-lte. 

1  The  writer  indicated  his  own  leaning  toward  this  view  in  a  book  review 
published  in  The  American  Journal  of  Theology,  in  January,  1903 ;  to-day 
the  theory  does  not  satisfy  him. 


364  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

As  a  seal  upon  thine  arm : 

For  love  is  strong  as  death ; 

Jealousy  is  cruel  as  Sheol ; 

The  flashes  thereof  are  flashes  of  fire, 

A  very  flame  of  Jehovah. 

Many  waters  cannot  quench  love, 

Neither  can  floods  drown  it : 

If  a  man  would  give  all  the  substance  of  his  house  for  love, 

He  would  utterly  be  contemned.1 

This  "matchless  panegyric  upon  true  love"  is  the  real  climax  of 
the  poem ;  the  reflections  which  follow  serve  to  bring  the  song  to 
rest  on  the  homely  earth ;  just  at  the  close,  however,  the  lover  calls 
upon  his  bride  to  sing,  and  she  responds  playfully  with  a  quatrain 
similar  to  that  with  which  she  had  adjured  him  to  flee  for  safety 
in  their  hour  of  trouble.2  Only  now  it  is  "hasten"  instead  of 
"turn"  and  "balsam  mountains"  rather  than  "cleft  river." 

Hasten,  my  love, 

As  hastens  gazelle, 
Or  the  chief  stag 

On  balsam  scented  heights.3 

Thus  ends  the  book  which  Herder  styled  "Solomon's  songs  of 
love,  the  oldest  and  sweetest  of  the  East." 

Whether  the  psalms  ascribed  to  the  sons  of  Korah  and  to  Asaph 
were,  in  their  nucleus,  collections  made  at  the  great  sanctuaries  of 
northern  Israel 4  or  whether  they  were,  as  most  suppose,  post-exilic, 
Levitical  collections,  they  were  known  as  separate  hymnals  in  the 
early  part  of  the  Greek  age  and  were  used  during  this  era,  along 
with  many  psalms  from  the  Davidic  book,  to  form  a  large  hymnal, 
differing  from  that  compiled  in  the  Persian  age  (Psalms  2-41). 
The  new  book  (Psalms  42-83)  shows  its  unifying  editing  by  the 
overwhelming  use  of  the  general  name  for  God  instead  of  the  specific 
name  of  Israel's  God.  Some  hymns  were  included  that  were 
already  in  the  collection  2-41,  but  with  frequent  substitution  of 
Elohim  for  Yahweh.6  At  some  subsequent  date,  Psalms  84-89, 

1  Song  of  Songs  S5"7.  2  2  ".  3  Translating  rather  freely  8  14. 

4  See  pp.  133  f.  6  Cf .  53  with  14. 


LYRIC   POETRY   OF  THE   GREEK  AGE  365 

chiefly  taken  from  the  Korahite  collection,  were  added  at  the 
close  of  this  Elohist  group,  but  without  similar  editing.1 

Psalm  1,  so  like  the  book  of  Proverbs  hi  its  gnomic  and  didactic 
character,  is  best  assigned  to  the  Greek  age,  and  it  may  have  been 
placed  in  its  present  position  soon  after  its  composition,  so  that 
we  may  think  of  Psalms  1-89  as  standing  in  essentially  their  present 
order  and  form  during  the  era  now  under  consideration.  Most  of 
the  individual  psalms  in  this  composite  book  were  written  before 
Alexander's  conquest  and  therefore  belong  to  the  literature  of 
earlier  times.2 

One  of  the  finest  products  of  Israel's  literature  in  the  Greek  age 
was  a  new  book  of  religious  poems,  the  Pilgrim  Psalter  (Psalms 
120-134)  .3  This  is  now  generally  regarded  as  a  collection  of  songs 
used  by  the  pilgrims  who  journeyed  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  great 
annual  feasts,  though  certain  of  the  poems  may  have  had  other 
circumstances  in  view  before  they  were  adapted  to  this  use. 

To  select  some,  rather  than  others,  of  these  charming  lyrics  as 
examples  of  Israel's  religious  poetry  seems  almost  invidious. 
Among  the  most  inspiring  are  121  to  126;  in  these  we  are  led  up 
the  mountain  side,  into  Jerusalem  and  the  temple,  and  are  com- 
pelled to  let  our  gaze  sweep  round  about  the  summits  of  the  ever- 
lasting hills  and  upward  to  the  heavens  where  Jehovah  sits 
enthroned. 

Throughout  this  little  psalter,  the  power  and  grace  of  Israel's 
lyric  is  seen  in  its  perfection.  Ordinary  parallelism,with  its  con- 
stant return  upon  itself,  cannot  express  the  rising  tide  of  feeling 
and  the  rhythm  becomes  of  the  ascending  type,  in  which  the 
second  line  reiterates  the  thought  briefly,  and  then  adds  a  new 
element  that  lifts  the  soul  still  higher.  So  marked  is  this  feature, 
that  some  have  thought  the  term  "ascents"  descriptive  of  the 
rhythm  rather  than  of  the  use  of  the  songs  in  the  pilgrimages. 

1  The  editorial  note  at  the  close  of  Psalm  72,  "The  Prayers  of  David 
the  Son  of  Jesse  are  ended,"  indicates  that  Psalm  86  of  the  appendix  and 
other  Psalms  ascribed  to  David  in  the  later  collection  of  90-150  were 
unknown  to  the  editor.     So  far  as  Psalms  2^41  and  42-83  are  concerned, 
the  prayers  of  David  were  ended. 

2  As  such,  many  have  been  discussed  in  chapters  IX,  XVI,  and  XXII. 

3  Psalm  139,  like  some  in  the  group  1-89,  may  be  Maccabean  and 
added  later  to  the  collection. 


366  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

121 

I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  mountains : 

From  whence  shall  my  help  come  ? 

My  help  cometh  from  Jehovah, 

Who  made  heaven  and  earth. 

He  will  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved : 

He  that  keepeth  thee  will  not  slumber. 

Behold,  he  that  keepeth  Israel 

Will  neither  slumber  nor  sleep. 

Jehovah  is  thy  keeper : 

Jehovah  is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand. 

The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day, 

Nor  the  moon  by  night. 

Jehovah  will  keep  thee  from  all  evil ; 

He  will  keep  thy  soul. 

Jehovah  will  keep  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in 

From  this  time  forth  and  for  evermore. 

122 

I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 

Let  us  go  unto  the  house  of  Jehovah. 

Our  feet  are  standing 

Within  thy  gates,  0  Jerusalem, 

Jerusalem,  that  art  builded 

As  a  city  that  is  compact  together ; 

Whither  the  tribes  go  up,  even  the  tribes  of  Jehovah, 

For  an  ordinance  for  Israel, 

To  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  Jehovah. 

For  there  are  set  thrones  for  judgment, 

The  thrones  of  the  house  of  David. 

Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem : 

They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee. 

Peace  be  within  thy  walls, 

And  prosperity  within  thy  palaces. 

For  my  brethren  and  companions'  sakes, 

I  will  now  say,  Peace  be  within  thee. 

For  the  sake  of  the  house  of  Jehovah  our  God 

I  will  seek  thy  good. 

123 

Unto  thee  do  I  lift  up  mine  eyes, 
0  thou  that  sittest  in  the  heavens 


LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE. GREEK  AGE      367 

Behold,  as  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto  the  hand  of  their  master, 

As  the  eyes  of  a  maid  unto  the  hand  of  her  mistress ; 

So  our  eyes  look  unto  Jehovah  our  God, 

Until  he  have  mercy  upon  us. 

Have  mercy  upon  us,  O  Jehovah,  have  mercy  upon  us ; 

For  we  are  exceedingly  filled  with  contempt. 

Our  soul  is  exceedingly  filled 

With  the  scoffing  of  those  that  are  at  ease, 

And  with  the  contempt  of  the  proud. 

124 

If  it  had  not  been  Jehovah  who  was  on  our  side, 

Let  Israel  now  say, 

If  it  had  not  been  Jehovah  who  was  on  our  side, 

When  men  rose  up  against  us  ; 

Then  they  had  swallowed  us  up  alive, 

When  their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us : 

Then  the  waters  had  overwhelmed  us, 

The  stream  had  gone  over  our  soul ; 

Then  the  proud  waters  had  gone  over  our  soul. 

Blessed  be  Jehovah, 

Who  hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  to  their  teeth. 

Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowlers : 

The  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped. 

Our  help  is  hi  the  name  of  Jehovah, 

Who  made  heaven  and  earth. 

125 

They  that  trust  in  Jehovah  . 

Are  as  mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be  moved,  but  abideth  forever. 

As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem, 

So  Jehovah  is  round  about  his  people 

From  this  tune  forth  and  for  evermore. 

For  the  sceptre  of  wickedness  shall  not  rest  upon  the  lot  of  the  righteous ; 

That  the  righteous  put  not  forth  their  hands  unto  iniquity. 

Do  good,  0  Jehovah,  unto  those  that  are  good, 

And  to  them  that  are  upright  in  their  hearts. 

But  as  for  such  as  turn  aside  unto  their  crooked  ways, 

Jehovah  will  lead  them  forth  with  the  workers  of  iniquity. 

Peace  be  upon  Israel. 


368  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

126 

When  Jehovah  brought  back  those  that  returned  to  Zion, 

We  were  like  unto  them  that  dream. 

Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter, 

And  our  tongue  with  singing : 

Then  said  they  among  the  nations, 

Jehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  them. 

Jehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  us, 

Whereof  we  are  glad. 

Turn  again  our  captivity,  0  Jehovah. 

As  the  streams  in  the  South. 

They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy. 

He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  seed  for  sowing, 

Shall  doubtless  come  again  with  joy,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him. 

Another  wonderful  collection  of  hymns  that  was  mainly  written 
in  the  Greek  age  is  the  Hallel  or  Praise  group.  In  later  Jewish 
liturgy,  Psalms  113  to  118  formed  the  Hallel  used  at  the  great 
festivals,1  but  we  need  not  suppose  that  the  original  collection  was 
limited  to  these  six.  Little  groups  of  similar  character  are  scattered 
through  the  Psalter  from  104  to  150 ;  a  large  number  of  these  begin 
or  end  with  Hallelujah,  Praise  ye  Yah  (Jehovah).2 

The  members  of  the  group  104-107  stand  in  interesting  sequence ; 
the  first  glorifies  Jehovah's  work  in  creation;  it  begins :  — 

Bless  Jehovah,  0  my  soul. 

O  Jehovah  my  God,  thou  art  very  great ; 

Thou  art  clothed  with  honor  and  majesty: 

Who  coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment ; 

Who  stretchest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain ; 

Who  layeth  the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters ; 

Who  maketh  the  clouds  his  chariot ; 

Who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind ; 

Who  maketh  winds  his  messengers ; 

1  Since  115-118  are  sung  after  the  Passover  meal,  it  is  probable  that 
they  were  "the  hymn  sung  by  our  Lord  and  His  disciples  before  they  left 
the  upper  chamber,"  Kirkpatrick,  Psalms,  p.  677. 

2  Briggs  includes  in  the  Hallels  the  four  groups   104-107,   111-117, 
135-136,  146-150,  though  regarding  147  and  149  as  written  after  168  B.C. 
and  so  not  in  the  original  collection.     He   also  excludes  118  and  116 
"regarded  as  Hallels  in  later  usage."    Int.  Crit.  Com.,  Psalms,  I,  p.  Ixxviii. 


LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE      369 

Flames  of  fire  his  ministers ; 

Who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth, 

That  it  should  not  be  moved  forever. 

Thou  coveredst  it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  vesture ; 

The  waters  stood  above  the  mountains. 

At  thy  rebuke  they  fled  ; 

At  the  voice  of  thy  thunder  they  hasted  away 

(The  mountains  rose,  the  valleys  sank  down) 

Unto  the  place  which  thou  hadst  founded  for  them.1 

The  second  tells  of  God's  dealings  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
of  Joseph's  and  Israel's  descent  into  Egypt,  of  Moses,  the  plagues, 
and  escape.  Here  is  as  close  an  approach  to  narrative  poetry  as 
the  Old  Testament  knows;  a  few  lines  are:  — 

And  he  called  for  a  famine  upon  the  land ; 

He  brake  the  whole  staff  of  bread. 

He  sent  a  man  before  them ; 

Joseph  was  sold  for  a  servant : 

His  feet  they  hurt  with  fetters : 

He  was  laid  in  chains  of  iron, 

Until  the  time  that  his  word  came  to  pass, 

The  word  of  Jehovah  tried  him. 

The  king  sent  and  loosed  him ; 

Even  the  ruler  of  peoples,  and  let  Him  go  free. 

He  made  him  lord  of  his  house, 

And  ruler  of  all  his  substance ; 

To  bind  his  princes  at  his  pleasure, 

And  teach  his  elders  wisdom. 

Israel  also  came  into  Egypt ; 

And  Jacob  sojourned  in  the  land  of  Ham, 

And  he  increased  his  people  greatly, 

And  made  them  stronger  than  their  adversaries. 

He  turned  their  heart  to  hate  his  people, 

To  deal  subtly  with  his  servants. 

He  sent  Moses  his  servant, 

And  Aaron  whom  he  had  chosen. 

They  set  among  them  his  signs, 

And  wonders  in  the  land  of  Ham. 

He  sent  darkness,  and  made  it  dark  ; 

And  they  rebelled  not  against  his  words.2 

1  Psalm  104 1~*.  2  Ibid.  105 16-". 

2B 


370  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Psalm  106  carries  the  story  from  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  through 
the  wilderness  and  on  to  the  mingling  of  foreign  worship  in  Canaan, 
the  events  all  being  interpreted  as  examples  of  rebelliousness  and 
deliverance.  The  next  continues  the  theme  of  deliverance  from 
perils  with  the  restoration  from  the  exile  in  the  foreground. 

O  give  thanks  unto  Jehovah ;  for  he  is  good  ; 

For  his  lovingkindness  endureth  forever. 

Let  the  redeemed  of  Jehovah  say  so, 

Whom  he  hath  redeemed  from  the  hand  of  the  adversary, 

And  gathered  out  of  the  lands, 

From  the  east  and  from  the  west, 

From  the  north  and  from  the  south. 

They  wandered  in  the  wilderness  in  a  desert  way  j 

They  found  no  city  of  habitation. 

Hungry  and  thirsty, 

Their  soul  fainted  in  them. 

Then  they  cried  .unto  Jehovah  in  their  trouble, 

And  he  delivered  them  out  of  their  distresses, 

He  led  them  also  by  a  straight  way, 

That  they  might  go  to  a  city  of  habitation. 

Oh  that  men  would  praise  Jehovah  for  his  lovingkindness, 

And  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men ! 

For  he  satisfieth  the  longing  soul, 

And  the  hungry  soul  he  filleth  with  good.1 

The  next  little  group,  111-117,  opens  with  two  alphabetic  poems, 
each  consisting  of  a  hallelujah  and  twenty-two  lines.  The  fact  that 
the  opening  hallelujah  stands  apart  from  the  acrostic  structure 
suggests  that  it  may  have  been  added  for  liturgical  use  to  these 
two  songs  which,  apart  from  this,  are  quite  in  the  wisdom  vein. 

Praise  ye  Jehovah. 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  Jehovah, 

That  delighteth  greatly  in  his  commandments. 

His  seed  shall  be  mighty  upon  earth : 

The  generation  of  the  upright  shall  be  blessed. 

Wealth  and  riches  are  in  his  house ; 

And  his  righteousness  endureth  forever. 

Unto  the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  the  darkness : 

1  Psalm  107  »-•. 


LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE      371 

He  is  gracious,  and  merciful,  and  righteous. 

Well  is  it  with  the  man  that  dealeth  graciously  and  lendeth ; 

He  shall  maintain  his  cause  in  judgment.1 

Of  the  two  Hallels  (113-114)  that,  in  the  later  Passover  ritual, 
are  sung  before  the  supper,  the  appropriateness  of  114  is  obvious. 

When  Israel  went  forth  out  of  Egypt, 

The  house  of  Jacob  from  a  people  of  strange  language ; 

Judah  became  his  sanctuary, 

Israel  his  dominion. 

The  sea  saw  it,  and  fled ; 

The  Jordan  was  driven  back. 

The  mountains  skipped  like  rams, 

The  little  hills  like  lambs. 

What  aileth  thee,  0  thou  sea,  that  thou  fleest  ? 

Thou  Jordan,  that  thou  turnest  back  ? 

Ye  mountains,  that  ye  skip  like  rams ; 

Ye  little  hills,  like  lambs? 

Tremble,  thou  earth,  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 

At  the  presence  of  the  God  of  Jacob, 

Who  turned  the  rock  into  a  pool  of  water, 

The  flint  into  a  fountain  of  waters. 

The  opening  of  115  that  follows  the  supper  is  especially  noble 
in  its  thought  of  glory  for  Jehovah. 

Not  unto  us,  0  Jehovah,  not  unto  us, 

But  unto  thy  name  give  glory, 

For  thy  lovingkindness,  and  for  thy  truth's  sake. 

Wherefore  should  the  nations  say, 

Where  is  now  their  God  ? 

But  our  God  is  in  the  heavens : 

He  hath  done  whatsoever  he  pleased.2 

The  cry,  "Where  is  now  their  God?"  followed  later  in  the  poem 
by  sarcastic  description  of  helpless  idol  gods,  echoes  thought  that 
grew  out  of  the  Babylonian  exile,  but  applies  almost  equally  well 
to  the  Egyptian  deliverance. 

Of  this  group,  117,  a  mere  quatrain  with  a  hallelujah,  is  a  very 
perfect  psalm  of  praise. 

1  Psalm  112  i-».  l  Ibid.  115  «. 


372  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

Oh  praise  Jehovah,  all  ye  nations ; 
Laud  him,  all  ye  peoples. 
For  his  lovingkindness  is  great  toward  us; 
And  the  truth  of  Jehovah  endureth  forever. 
Praise  ye  Jehovah. 

Psalm  136  gives  a  good  example  of  the  monotony  of  repetition, 
that  may  develop  under  the  influence  of  liturgical  use.  If,  how- 
ever, the  main  theme  was  sung  .by  a  solo  voice  and  the  trimeter 
refrain, 

Since  his  mercy's  eternal, 

was  given  by  the  chorus,  as  a  response  to  each  line,  the  effect  must 
have  been  very  impressive.  If  the  refrain  be  omitted  in  reading, 
the  remainder  will  be  found  a  poem  suggesting  in  theme  the  group 
104-107. 

Oh  give  thanks  unto  Jehovah ;  for  he  is  good ; 

Oh  give  thanks  unto  the  God  of  gods ; 

Oh  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  of  lords ; 

To  him  who  alone  doeth  great  wonders ; 

To  him  that  by  understanding  made  the  heavens ; 

To  him  that  spread  forth  the  earth  above  the  waters ; 

To  him  that  made  great  lights ; 

The  sun  to  rule  by  day ; 

The  moon  and  stars  to  rule  by  night ; 

To  him  that  smote  Egypt  in  their  first-born ; 

And  brought  out  Israel  from  among  them ; 

With  a  strong  hand,  and  with  an  outstretched  arm ; 

To  him  that  divided  the  Red  Sea  in  sunder  ; 

And  made  Israel  to  pass  through  the  midst  of  it ; 

But  overthrew  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red  Sea ; 

To  him  that  led  his  people  through  the  wilderness ; 

To  him  that  smote  great  kings ; 

And  slew  famous  kings ; 

Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites ; 

And  Og  king  of  Bashan  ; 

And  gave  their  land  for  a  heritage ; 

Even  a  heritage  unto  Israel  his  servant ; 

Who  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate ; 

And  hath  delivered  us  from  our  adversaries ; 

Who  giveth  food  to  all  flesh ; 

Oh  give  thanks  unto  the  God  of  heaven. 


LYRIC  POETRY  OF  THE  GREEK  AGE      373 

146  to  150  form  a  group  of  doxologies,  some  of  which  were  written 
before  the  close  of  the  Greek  age,  and,  presumably,  formed  a  part 
of  the  original  Hallel  Psalter. 

With  the  Pilgrim  and  Hallel  collections  as  chief  sources,  the  third 
great  division  of  the  present  book  of  Psalms,  90-150,  was  formed 
by  the  insertion  of  many  individual  hymns  which  are  without  any 
special  headings  to  indicate  their  source,  a  dozen  ascribed  to 
David,1  and  one  bearing  the  name  of  Moses.2  This  last  great 
group  discernible  in  the  evolution  of  the  Psalter  may  have  been 
collected,  in  the  main,  before  the  close  of  the  Greek  age,  or  it  may 
have  been  the  compilation  of  an  editor  living  in  Maccabean  tunes. 
A  number  of  individual  psalms  are  assigned,  with  greater  or  less 
probability,  to  the  Maccabean  era,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say 
whether  these  were  inserted  after  our  book  of  Psalms  was  prac- 
tically completed  or  whether  the  book  as  a  whole  was  compiled 
only  in  the  Maccabean  age.  In  either  case,  the  Pilgrim  Psalter 
and  most  of  the  Hallels,  forming  a  large  part  of  the  third 
great  section  of  our  book,  were  collected  before  168  B.C.,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  the  three  great  groups,  1-41,  42-89,  90- 
150,  stood  much  as  they  now  do  and  that  the  book  of  Psalms  was 
substantially  completed  in  the  Greek  age.  The  division  of  the 
second  and  third  groups,  resulting  in  the  present  pentateuchal 
structure  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  is  arbitrary  and  to  be  counted 
one  of  the  latest  elements  in  the  long  history  of  the  book. 

In  the  Psalter,  viewed  as  a  whole,  all  phases  of  Israel's  thought, 
developed  by  her  prophets,  priests,  and  sages,  find  beautiful  ex- 
pression. Since  the  greater  part  of  these  lyrics  were  written  or 
revised  and  expanded  in  the  later  centuries  of  the  Old  Testament 
era,  they  represent  the  prophetic  and  priestly  thought  in  their 
developed  and  spiritualized  form.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
that  all  types  of  religious  consciousness,  through  the  centuries, 
find  something  in  the  book  of  Psalms  to  meet  the  deep  needs  of 
the  soul. 

One  element  alone  in  the  life  of  post-exilic  Israel  which  has 
frequent  and  intense  expression  in  these  lyrics  continually  per- 
plexes those  who  have  entered  into  the  highest  thought  of  Israel's 
teachers ;  it  is  the  bitter  cry  for  vengeance  upon  enemies.  Against 
1  103,  108-110,  138-145.  290. 


374  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

just  such  a  spirit  as  this  we  have  found  the  writer  of  Jonah  protest- 
ing and,  generations  before  the  book  of  Psalms  was  completed, 
the  poem  of  the  Suffering  Servant  had  presented  a  very  different 
ideal  of  life.  Still  the  common  consciousness  of  Israel  cried  out 
for  vengeance  upon  those  who  compassed  her  about  with  hatred 
and  fought  against  her  without  a  cause,1  and  the  nation's  great 
hymnal  more  truly  reflects  that  common  consciousness  than  the 
writings  of  such  supreme  seers  as  the  author  of  Jonah  or  of  the 
Suffering  Servant. 

Similar  limitation  is  seen  in  what  may  be  called  the  wisdom 
psalms.  Here  we  have  the  common  dogma  of  the  sages,  that  long 
life,  wealth,  and  family  are  the  necessary  reward  of  him  who 
feareth  Jehovah,  rather  than  the  deeper  insight  of  the  author  of 
Job.  This  aspect  of  the  psalms  fails  to  give  the  same  perplexity 
as  the  imprecatory  element,  since  the  common  Christian  conscious- 
ness has  not  yet  risen  to  the  level  of  Job  and  the  Great  Teacher  in 
its  thought  of  rewards  and  penalties. 

When  the  limitations  have  been  recognized,  the  fact  remains 
that  the  generations  bear  irrefutable  testimony  to  the  undying 
truth  and  worth  of  this  unique  anthology,  in  fulfilling  the  highest 
mission  of  song.  Post-exilic  Judaism  had  advanced  far  above  and 
beyond  that  early  Israel  which  collected  the  songs  of  The  Wars  of 
Yahweh,  or  the  Psalter  could  not  have  become  the  great,  recog- 
nized, national  treasury  of  song. 

1  See  Psalm  109s,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN  ERA 

(168  to  about  135  B.C.} 

WHEN  Palestine  was  incorporated  in  the  Syrian  kingdom  by 
Antiochus  the  Great  (198  B.C.),1  the  influence  of  the  degenerated 
Greek  civilization  of  Antioch  became  dominant  in  Jerusalem ;  the 
Judaism  that  had  survived  Babylonian  exile  seemed  doomed  to 
disintegrate  under  the  pervasive  influence  of  Greek  athletics, 
theatres,  and  gay  religious  festivals.  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who 
succeeded  to  the  Syrian  throne,  was  not  satisfied  with  the  progress 
Hellenistic  civilization  was  making  among  his  Jewish  subjects 
and  determined  to  root  out  completely  all  the  rites  and  usages 
which  made  in  any  way  an  heterogeneous  element  in  his 
kingdom.  He  forbade  the  observance  of  Sabbath  and  circum- 
cision, ordered  all  copies  of  the  Law  burned,  and  all  Jews  to  worship 
the  Greek  gods;  horrible  torture  and  death  were  the  only  alter- 
natives. The  temple  was  polluted  by  vile  orgies  of  the  Syrian 
soldiers,  and  an  altar  of  Zeus,  the  "  abomination  of  desolation," 
set  upon  the  great  altar  of  Jehovah,  with  swine's  flesh  used  in 
sacrifice. 

Such  measures  could  have  but  one  result ;  they  kindled  into 
life  all  the  loyalty  to  the  law  that  had  been  developed  under  the 
Nehemiah-Ezra  reform.  The  roll  of  martyrs  became  long  and 
glorious ;  many  fled  to  the  caves  of  the  wilderness,  where  a  thou- 
sand were  found  and  killed  unresisting  on  a  Sabbath  day.  Then 
the  fires  leaped  forth  in  the  Maccabean  revolt,  begun  (168  B.C.) 
by  an  aged  priest  Mattathias  and  continued  by  his  sons,  at  first 
under  the  leadership  of  Judas  called  Maccabeus.  This  son  of 
Mattathias  proved  himself,  not  only  one  of  the  most  devoted 
patriots,  but  one  of  the  cleverest  strategists  of  military  history. 
With  his  growing  band  of  heroic  followers,  he  entrapped  and  cut 

1  See  p.  351  f. 
375 


376  THE   LITERATURE  OF  ANCIENT  ISRAEL 

to  pieces  army  after  army  sent  to  put  down  the  revolt.  Now  he 
caught  the  enemy  in  a  narrow  defile  where  predominant  numbers 
were  of  no  avail ;  again,  when  their  forces  were  divided  attempt- 
ing a  night  surprise  in  the  mountains,  his  whole  band  swept  down 
upon  their  unsuspecting  camp  in  the  open  plain.  The  story,  told 
with  majestic  simplicity  two  generations  later,  in  1  Maccabees, 
is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  of  history.  By  December,  165  B.C., 
Judas  was  able  to  cleanse  the  polluted  precincts  of  the  temple 
and  restore  the  daily  worship  of  Jehovah,  never  again  to  be  inter- 
mitted till  the  priests  fell,  calmly  conducting  sacrifices  at  the 
altar,  while  their  temple  burned,  in  70  A.D. 

Religious  liberty  secured,  many  of  the  more  fanatical  religionists 
deserted  Judas,  failing  to  understand  the  necessity  of  political 
independence.  Four  years  later,  with  diminished  forces,  the  great 
leader  met  his  death  in  hopeless  battle.  The  Maccabean  brothers 
carried  forward  the  struggle,  until,  through  keen  diplomacy, 
taking  advantage  of  the  strifes  of  the  many  claimants  to  the 
Syrian  throne,  they  obtained  recognition  of  independence,  twenty 
years  after  the  death  of  Judas.  The  Maccabean  state  retained 
independence  till  the  coming  of  Pompey  in  63  B.C.  The  death 
of  the  last  of  the  brothers  of  Judas  Maccabeus  in  135  B.C.  marks 
the  point  to  which  we  carry  our  survey  of  the  history. 

That  the  struggle  and  victories  of  the  Maccabees  called  forth 
lyrics  of  prayer  and  praise  from  faithful  worshippers  of  Jehovah, 
we  cannot  question;  some  of  these,  as  noted  in  the  previous 
chapter,  are  believed  to  have  found  entrance  into  the  book  of 
Psalms.  If  that  collection  had  not  been  already  edited  as  a  whole, 
we  should  expect  to  find  more  songs  from  the  Maccabean  age 
included.  Beautiful  psalms  written  in  the  next  century,  and 
traditionally  ascribed  to  Solomon,  form  a  separate  collection  that 
was  never  included  in  the  national  hymnal.1 

Out  of  the  darkness  of  Antiochus's  persecution  came  such  cries 
for  vengeance  and  deliverance  as  Psalm  79.2 

1  An  excellent  English  edition  of  this  later  product  of  Israel's  psalmody, 
edited  by  Ryle  and  James,  is  published  by  the  Cambridge  University 
Press  and,  in  America,  by  Macmillan  and  Company,  under  the  title 
"Psalms  of  the  Pharisees,  or  Psalms  of  Solomon." 

2  While  the  nucleus  of  this  psalm  is  probably  earlier,  it  was  expanded 
to  meet  the  conditions  of  the  later  era. 


LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN   ERA    377 

0  God,  the  nations  are  come  into  thine  inheritance ; 

Thy  holy  temple  have  they  defiled ; 

They  have  laid  Jerusalem  in  heaps. 

The  dead  bodies  of  thy  servants  have  they  given  to  be  food  unto  the  birds 

of  the  heavens, 

The  flesh  of  thy  saints  unto  the  beasts  of  the  earth. 
Their  blood  have  they  shed  like  water  round  about  Jerusalem ; 
And  there  was  none  to  bury  them. 
We  are  become  a  reproach  to  our  neighbors, 
A  scoffing  and  derision  to  them  that  are  round  about  us. 
How  long,  0  Jehovah  ?  wilt  thou  be  angry  forever  ? 
Shall  thy  jealousy  burn  like  fire  ? 

Pour  out  thy  wrath  upon  the  nations  that  know  thee  not, 
And  upon  the  kingdoms  that  call  not  upon  thy  name. 
For  they  have  devoured  Jacob, 
And  laid  waste  his  habitation. 

Remember  not  against  us  the  iniquities  of  our  forefathers : 
Let  thy  tender  mercies  speedily  meet  us ; 
For  we  are  brought  very  low. 

Help  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation,  for  the  glory  of  thy  name ; 
And  deliver  us,  and  forgive  our  sins,  for  thy  name's  sake. 
Wherefore  should  the  nations  say,  Where  is  their  God  ? 
Let  the  avenging  of  the  blood  of  thy  servants  which  is  shed 
Be  known  among  the  nations  in  our  sight. 
Let  the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  come  before  thee : 
According  to  the  greatness  of  thy  power  preserve  thou  those  that  are 

appointed  to  death ; 

And  render  unto  our  neighbors  sevenfold  into  their  bosom 
Their  reproach,  wherewith  they  have  reproached  thee,  0  Lord. 
So  we  thy  people  and  sheep  of  thy  pasture 
Will  give  thee  thanks  for  ever : 
We  will  show  forth  thy  praise  to  all  generations. 

When  victory  had  come  to  Judas,  there  were  outpourings  of 
praise. 

Rejoice  in  Jehovah,  0  ye  righteous  : 

Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright. 

Give  thanks  unto  Jehovah  with  the  harp  : 

Sing  praises  unto  him  with  the  psaltery  of  ten  strings. 

Sing  unto  him  a  new  song ; 

Play  skilfully  with  a  loud  noise. 


378  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

For  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  right ; 

And  all  his  work  is  done  in  faithfulness. 

He  loveth  righteousness  and  justice: 

The  earth  is  full  of  the  lovingkindness  of  Jehovah. 

By  the  word  of  Jehovah  were  the  heavens  made, 

And  all  the  host  of  them  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth. 

He  gathereth  the  waters  of  the  sea  together  as  a  heap : 

He  layeth  up  the  deeps  in  storehouses. 

Let  all  the  earth  fear  Jehovah : 

Let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  stand  in  awe  of  him.1 

The  most  characteristic  literature  growing  out  of  the  persecu- 
tion and  struggle  for  freedom  were  the  great  apocalypses  Daniel 
and  Enoch  83-90.  The  growth  of  apocalypse 2  is  one  of  the  most 
distinctive  and  interesting  phases  of  Israel's  literary  history. 

Apocalypse  is  a  direct  outgrowth  of  prophecy,  a  branch  whose 
appearance  announces  the  dwindling  or  death  of  the  parent  stem.3 
The  new  branch  is  first  clearly  seen  in  Ezekiel  where  two  great 
characteristics  of  the  fully  developed  apocalypse  are  prominent : 
fantastic  symbolism  and  the  picture  of  a  great  day  when  the 
nations  shall  be  gathered  against  Israel  and  when,  in  his  people's 
last  extremity,  Jehovah  will  destroy  their  enemies  and  vindicate 
his  power.4  This  conception  could  not  develop  as  a  mere  mono- 
podial  branch  of  prophecy,  for  the  prophetic  and  apocalyptic 
conception  of  life  are  eternally  contradictory.  One  conceives  the 
hope  of  the  future  as  an  inward  transformation,  bringing  nation 
and  individual  into  willing  harmony  with  God;  the  other  trusts 
in  a  manifestation  of  external  power  to  destroy  the  wicked  and 
leave  the  righteous. 

From  EzekieFs  time  forward  the  apocalyptic  elements  of 
prophecy  increase.  Zechariah  adopts  Ezekiel's  symbolism,  while 

1  Psalm  33  seems  best  assigned  to  this  time.     The  opening  lines  are 
given  above. 

2  Translated  into  Latin-English  by  "revelation,"  and  meaning  etymo- 
logically  uncovering. 

3  It  offers  an  example  of  sympodial  branching,  by  which  the  "branch 
virtually  becomes  the  trunk,  and  the  real  trunk  or  ascending  portion  is 
reduced  to  a  mere  twig,  or  may  ultimately  fail  of  support  altogether  and 
disappear  through  atrophy."  —  Ward,  Pure  Sociology,  p.  72. 

*  Ezekiel  38-39. 


LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN   ERA     379 

retaining  much  of  the  genuine  spirit  of  prophecy ;  Joel  takes  both 
the  form  and  thought,  converting  the  older  prophetic  symbol  of 
peace  into  a  call  to  war,  and  picturing  the  nations  as  gathered 
together  against  Israel,  to  be  cut  down  by  Jehovah,  for  his  people's 
deliverance  and  his  own  vindication. 

Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  nations ;  prepare  war ;  stir  up  the  mighty 
men;  let  all  the  men  of  war  draw  near,  let  them  come  up.  Beat  your 
plowshares  into  swords,  and  your  pruning-hooks  into  spears ;  let  the  weak 
say,  I  am  strong.  Haste  ye,  and  come,  all  ye  nations  round  about,  and 
gather  yourselves  together :  thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down, 
O  Jehovah.  Let  the  nations  bestir  themselves,  and  come  up  to  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat ;  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  nations  round 
about.  Put  ye  in  the  sickle ;  for  the  harvest  is  ripe :  come,  tread  ye ; 
for  the  winepress  is  full,  the  vats  overflow ;  for  their  wickedness  is  great. 

Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision!  for  the  day  of  Je- 
hovah is  near  in  the  valley  of  decision.  The  sun  and  the  moon  are  dark- 
ened, and  the  stars  withdraw  their  shining.  And  Jehovah  will  roar 
from  Zion,  and  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem ;  and  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  shall  shake :  but  Jehovah  will  be  a  refuge  unto  his  people,  and  a 
stronghold  to  the  children  of  Israel.  So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  Jehovah 
your  God,  dwelling  in  Zion  my  holy  mountain :  then  shall  Jerusalem  be 
holy,  and  there  shall  no  strangers  pass  through  her  any  more.1 

Joel  cannot  conceive  a  day  when  Egypt  and  Assyria  shall  worship 
with  Israel;  for  him  the  peace  and  perpetuity  of  Jerusalem  de- 
mand the  desolation  of  her  neighbors.  Though  true  prophecy 
had  not  fully  disappeared  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  the  spirit  of 
apocalypse  was  fast  becoming  ascendant. 

The  late  oracles  appended  to  Zechariah  (chapters  9-14,  especially 
12-14)  show  still  further  development  of  apocalyptic  tendencies. 

Behold,  a  day  of  Jehovah  cometh,  when  thy  spoil  shall  be  divided  in 
the  midst  of  thee.  For  I  will  gather  all  nations  against  Jerusalem  to 
battle ;  and  the  city  shall  be  taken,  and  the  houses  rifled,  and  the  women 
ravished;  and  half  of  the  city  shall  go  forth  into  captivity,  and  the 
residue  of  the  people  shall  not  be  cut  off  from  the  city.  Then  shall  Jeho- 
vah go  forth,  and  fight  against  those  nations,  as  when  he  fought  in  the  day 
of  battle.  And  his  feet  shall  stand  in  that  day  upon  the  mount  of  Olives, 
which  is  before  Jerusalem  on  the  east ;  and  the  mount  of  Olives  shall  be 

1  Joel  3  »-". 


380  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

cleft  in  the  midst  thereof  toward  the  east  and  toward  the  west,  and  there 
shall  be  a  very  great  valley ;  and  half  of  the  mountain  shall  remove  toward 
the  north,  and  half  of  it  toward  the  south.  And  ye  shall  flee  by  the  valley 
of  my  mountains ;  for  the  valley  of  the  mountains  shall  reach  unto  Azel ; 1 
yea,  ye  shall  flee,  like  as  ye  fled  from  before  the  earthquake  in  the  days  of 
Uzziah  king  of  Judah;  and  Jehovah  my  God  shall  come,  and  all  the 
holy  ones  with  thee.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  there 
shall  not  be  light;  the  bright  ones  shall  withdraw  themselves:  but  it 
shall  be  one  day  which  is  known  unto  Jehovah ;  not  day,  and  not  night ; 
but  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  at  evening  time  there  shall  be  light.  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  living  waters  shall  go  out  from  Jeru- 
salem ;  half  of  them  toward  the  eastern  sea,  and  hah7  of  them  toward  the 
western  sea :  in  summer  and  in  winter  shall  it  be. 

And  Jehovah  shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth :  in  that  day  shall  Jeho- 
vah be  one,  and  his  name  one.  All  the  land  shall  be  made  like  the  Arabah, 
from  Geba  to  Rim m on  south  of  Jerusalem;  and  she  shall  be  lifted  up, 
and  shall  dwell  in  her  place,  from  Benjamin's  gate  unto  the  place  of  the 
first  gate,  unto  the  corner  gate,  and  from  the  tower  of  Hananel  unto  the 
king's  winepresses.  And  men  shall  dwell  therein,  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  curse;  but  Jerusalem  shall  dwell  safely. 

******** 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every  one  that  is  left  of  all  the  nations 
that  came  against  Jerusalem  shall  go  up  from  year  to  year  to  worship 
the  King,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  And 
it  shall  be,  that  whoso  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth  goeth  not  up  unto 
Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  upon  them  there  shall 
be  no  rain.  And  if  the  family  of  Egypt  go  not  up,  and  come  not,  neither 
shall  it  be  upon  them;  there  shall  be  the  plague  wherewith  Jehovah 
will  smite  the  nations  that  go  not  up  to  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles. 
This  shall  be  the  punishment  of  Egypt,  and  the  punishment  of  all  the 
nations  that  go  not  up  to  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  In  that  day 
shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  HOLY  UNTO  JEHOVAH  ;  and  the 
pots  in  Jehovah's  house  shall  be  like  the  bowls  before  the  altar.  Yea, 
every  pot  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Judah  shall  be  holy  unto  Jehovah  of  hosts ; 
and  all  they  that  sacrifice  shall  come  and  take  of  them,  and  boil  therein : 
and  in  that  day  there  shall  be  no  more  a  Canaanite  hi  the  house  of  Jeho- 
vah of  hosts.2 

The  vision  culminates  in  worship,  ritually  pure;  priest  and 
apocalyptist  now  express  the  nation's  ideals  and  they  two  are 

1  Probably  a  place  near  Jerusalem.  2  Zechariah  14 1~u  "~21. 


LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN  ERA    381 

closely  kindred,  since  each  conceives  the  hope  of  humanity  to 
rest  in  some  power  imposed  from  without,  rather  than  in  the  power 
of  transforming  love. 

Two  aspects  of  later  apocalyptic  literature  are  wanting  in 
Ezekiel,  Joel,  and  Zechariah  9-14 :  putting  the  vision  into  the 
mouth  of  some  ancient  worthy l  and  telling  the  history  of  the  past, 
with  more  or  less  of  accuracy  and  detail,  down  to  the  time  of  the 
writer.  The  favorite  mouthpiece  in  the  second  and  first  centuries 
B.C.  became  Enoch,  "the  seventh  from  Adam."  Under  his  name 
a  number  of  visions  have  come  down  to  us.  Most  of  these  were 
anciently  edited  into  one  volume,  divided  into  108  chapters.2 
Chapters  1-36  were  written  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Greek 
age,  before  the  persecutions  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  writer 
sets  himself  the  task  of  justifying  the  ways  of  God,  maintaining 
that  the  righteous  will  not  always  suffer  and  the  wicked  prosper. 
The  opening  is  "The  words  of  the  blessing  of  Enoch,  wherewith 
he  blessed  the  elect  and  righteous,  who  will  be  living  in  the  day  of 
tribulation,  when  all  the  wicked  and  godless  are  to  be  removed." 
The  presence  of  evil  in  the  world  is  attributed  to  the  events 
recorded  in  Genesis  6  *~4 ;  although  the  offspring  of  the  fallen 
watchers  perished  in  the  flood,  their  spirits  persisted  as  demons 
and  perpetuated  wickedness. 

The  next  section  of  the  book  of  Enoch  (83-90)  was  written  in  the 
midst  of  the  Maccabean  struggle  and  deals  much  more  in  detail 
with  national  history.  This  book,  for  it  is  a  separate  book,  is 
divided  into  two  main  parts,  the  former  of  which  treats  of  the  first 
world  judgment,  the  Flood,  and  the  latter  of  the  history  from 
Adam  to  the  final  judgment.  The  writer's  theology  agrees  with 
that  of  1-36  in  attributing  the  corruption  of  man  to  the  fallen 
angels.  The  calamities  that  have  befallen  Israel  are  attributed 
to  seventy  shepherds  or  angels  who  have  proved  faithless  to  their 
trust,  instead  of  pasturing  Israel. 

The  book  begins:  "And  now,  my  son  Methuselah,  I  will  show 
thee  all  my  visions  which  I  have  seen,  recounting  (them)  before 

1  This  suggests  the  mode  of  the  ancient  oracular  poetry  ;  see  p.  41. 

z  Chapters  1-36  and  83-90,  written  before  135  B.C.,  fall  within  the 
scope  of  the  present  volume.  This  Book  of  Enoch  is  published  in  Eng- 
lish, with  introduction  and  notes,  at  the  Clarendon  Press,  Oxford,  edited 
by  R.  H.  Charles. 


382  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

thee.  Two  visions  I  saw  before  I  took  a  wife,  and  the  one  was  quite 
unlike  the  other:  on  the  first  occasion  when  I  was  learning  to 
write,  on  the  second,  before  I  took  thy  mother,  I  saw  a  terrible 
vision,  and  concerning  them  I  prayed  to  the  Lord.  I  had  laid 
me  down  in  the  house  of  my  grandfather  Malalel,  when  I  saw  in 
a  vision  how  the  heaven  collapsed  and  was  borne  off  and  fell  to 
the  earth.  And  when  it  fell  to  the  earth  I  saw  how  the  earth  was 
swallowed  up  in  a  great  abyss,  and  mountains  hung  suspended  on 
mountains  and  hills  sank  down  on  hills,  and  high  trees  were  rent 
from  their  stems  and  hurled  down  and  sunk  in  the  abyss.  And 
thereupon  utterance  came  into  my  mouth,  and  I  lifted  up  my 
voice  to  cry  aloud,  and  said:  'The  earth  is  destroyed.'  Arid  my 
grandfather  Malalel  waked  me  as  I  lay  near  him,  and  said  unto 
me :  'Why  dost  thou  cry  aloud,  my  son,  and  why  dost  thou  thus 
make  lamentation?'  Then  I  recounted  to  him  the  whole  vision 
which  I  had  seen,  and  he  said  unto  me :  '  What  thou  hast  seen, 
my  son,  is  terrible,  and  thy  dream-vision  is  of  grave  moment  as 
to  the  sin  of  all  sin  of  the  earth :  it  must  sink  into  the  abyss  and 
be  destroyed  with  a  great  destruction.  And  now,  my  son,  arise 
and  make  petition  to  the  Lord  of  glory,  since  thou  art  a  believer, 
that  a  remnant  may  remain  on  the  earth.  My  son,  all  this  will 
come  from  heaven  upon  the  earth,  and  there  will  be  violent 
destruction  upon  earth.' ': 

The  second  vision,  beginning  with  chapter  85,  pictures  the 
history  of  humanity  under  the  symbols  of  domestic  animals  and 
beasts  and  birds  of  prey.  The  first  parents  and  their  children  are 
domestic  cattle ;  the  fallen  angels  are  fallen  stars,  their  offspring 
elephants,  camels,  and  asses.  There  come  forth  from  heaven 
four  beings  like  white  men  who  bind  the  fallen  stars  in  the  abyss 
of  the  earth.  One  of  the  heavenly  beings  secretly  instructs  a 
white  bull  who  builds  a  great  vessel  in  which  -he  and  three  bulls 
are  saved  from  the  flood :  Only  one  of  the  three  was  white,  like 
the  one  who  builded ;  of  the  other  two,  one  was  red  as  blood  and 
the  other  black,  and  these  two  gendered  "  lions,  tigers,  dogs, 
wolves,  .  .  .  falcons,  vultures,  .  .  .  and  ravens."  So  the  story 
goes  forward,  the  chosen  line  represented  by  white  bulls  and,  in 
later  generations,  by  sheep,  while  their  enemies  are  creatures  of 
prey. 


LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN   ERA     383 

When  at  last  the  outlook  is  blackest  and  the  "sheep  were  devoured 
by  the  dogs  and  eagles  and  kites"  "and  the  sheep  became  few," 
"lambs  were  borne  by  those  white  sheep,  and  they  began  to  open 
their  eyes  and  to  see,  and  to  cry  to  the  sheep.  But  the  sheep  did 
not  cry  to  them  and  did  not  hear  what  they  said  to  them,  but  were 
exceedingly  deaf,  and  their  eyes  were  exceedingly  and  forcibly 
blinded.  And  I  saw  in  the  vision  how  the  ravens  flew  upon  those 
lambs  and  took  one  of  those  lambs,  and  dashed  the  sheep  in  pieces 
and  devoured  them.  And  I  saw  till  horns  grew  upon  those  lambs, 
and  the  ravens  cast  down  their  horns ;  and  I  saw  till  a  great  horn 
of  one  of  those  sheep  branched  forth,  and  their  eyes  were  opened. 
And  it  looked  at  them  and  their  eyes  opened,  and  it  cried  to  the 
sheep  and  the  rams  saw  it  and  all  ran  to  it.  And  notwithstanding 
all  this,  those  eagles  and  vultures  and  ravens  and  kites  still  kept 
tearing  the  sheep  and  swooping  down  upon  them  and  devouring 
them :  still  the  sheep  took  no  action,  but  the  rams  lamented  and 
cried  out.  And  those  ravens  fought  and  battled  with  it  and 
sought  to  destroy  his  horn,  but  they  had  no  power  over  it.  And  I 
saw  them  till  the  shepherds  and  eagles  and  those  vultures  and 
kites  came,  and  they  cried  to  the  ravens  that  they  should  break 
the  horn  of  that  ram,  and  they  battled  and  fought  with  it,  and  it 
battled  with  them  and  cried  that  his  succour  should  come  unto 
him.  And  I  saw  till  that  man  who  wrote  down  the  names  of  the 
shepherds  and  carried  (them)  up  unto  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of 
the  sheep  came,  and  he  helped  that  ram  and  showed  it  everything, 
that  he  had  come  down  to  help  it.  And  I  saw  till  a  great  sword 
was  given  to  the  sheep  and  the  sheep  proceeded  against  all  the 
beasts  of  the  field  to  slay  them,  and  all  the  beasts  and  the  birds  of 
the  heaven  fled  before  their  face." 

With  these  victories  of  the  "great  horn,"  Judas  Maccabeus,  the 
world's  history,  as  we  know  it,  ends  and  the  great  judgment  is 
ushered  in;  "and  I  saw  till  a  throne  was  erected  in  the  pleasant 
land  and  the  Lord  of  the  sheep  sat  himself  thereon,  and  that  other 
took  the  sealed  books  and  opened  them  before  the  Lord  of  the 
sheep." 

The  writer  knows  nothing  of  the  death  of  Judas  in  161  B.C. 
and  of  the  tribulations  through  which  the  Maccabees  finally 
secured  political  independence.  He  is  familiar  with  the  early 


384  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

success  of  Judas  and  counts  this  rebellion  the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  all  Israel's  sufferings.  In  Enoch  83-90  we  have  a  great,  typical 
apocalypse,  written  between  168  and  161  B.C.,  probably  before  the 
rededication  of  the  temple  in  165. 

In  the  same  interval  of  three  years,  between  168  and  165,  the 
book  of  Daniel  was  written.  Earlier  stories  concerning  an  ancient, 
righteous  man,  Daniel,  were  current.  These  were  used  as  illustra- 
tions of  Jehovah's  care  for  those  who  were  faithful  to  him ;  they 
tell  of  the  steadfastness  of  the  young  Jewish  captive  and  his  three 
friends,  in  keeping  themselves  from  defilement  with  food  conse- 
crated to  heathen  deities ;  they  narrate  the  marvellous  deliverance 
of  the  three  who  refuse  to  worship  the  golden  image  set  up  by 
Nebuchadrezzar,  and  of  Daniel  when  he  is  cast  into  the  lion's  den 
for  praying  to  his  God.  Mingled  with  these  stories  of  faithfulness 
are  accounts  of  Daniel's  God-given  wisdom  in  the  interpretation 
of  vision  and  dream. 

Nebuchadrezzar's  dream  of  the  great  image  forms  the  only 
strictly  apocalyptic  section  in  the  first  half  of  the  book.  In  this 
vision,  history  down  to  the  time  of  the  writer  is  recorded  in  symbolic 
form,  as  foreseen  by  one  of  earlier  times;  the  history  terminates 
with  God's  judgment  upon  the  world  powers  and  the  establishment 
of  his  own  kingdom.  The  remaining  narratives  of  chapters  1-6, 
Nebuchadrezzar's  dream  of  the  tree  and  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall,  seem  designed  to  enforce  the  thought  of  God's  rule  over  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

If  we  had  only  the  first  six  chapters  of  Daniel,  it  might  not  be 
possible  to  determine  with  certainty  the  succession  of  kingdoms 
included  in  the  world  view  of  the  image  vision,  although  the  clos- 
ing words  of  chapters  5  and  6  indicate  that  the  writer  thought  of 
a  kingdom  of  the  Medes  as  intervening  between  that  of  Babylonia 
and  that  of  Cyrus  the  Persian.  This  suggests  that  Media,  Persia, 
and  Greece  were  typified  by  the  silver,  brass,  and  iron,  the  division 
of  Alexander's  kingdom  being  suggested  by  the  legs  and  feet. 
This  identification  of  the  successive  kingdoms  is  confirmed  by  the 
visions  of  chapters  7-12. 

Chapter  8  gives  the  clearest  indication  of  the  writer's  historical 
horizon.  In  this  section,  the  two  horns  of  the  ram,  the  higher  of 
which  came  up  last,  are  definitely  said  to  be  the  kings  of  Media 


LITERATURE   OF  THE  EARLY  MACCABEAN   ERA    385 

and  Persia,  and  the  great  horn  on  the  rough  he-goat  is  named  as 
the  first  king  of  Greece  who  cast  down  the  ram  to  the  ground. 
The  four  horns  that  spring  up  in  place  of  the  great  horn  are  the 
four  divisions  of  Alexander's  kingdom.  The  little  horn,  that  came 
forth  from  one  of  these  and  took  away  the  continual  burnt  offering 
and  cast  down  the  place  of  the  sanctuary,1  is  most  clearly  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  The  restoration  of  the  sanctuary2  and  the  death  of 
Antiochus3  are  foreseen,  but  beyond  these  the  vision  does  not 
extend. 

The  outlook  is  the  same  in  chapter  11  as  in  8 ;  the  section  tells 
of  the  Persian  invasion  of  Greece,  of  Alexander  and  the  division  of 
his  kingdom,  of  the  conflicts  between  the  Ptolemies  and  Seleucids, 
and  especially  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  his  persecution.4  In 
this  vision  too,  the  historical  survey  terminates  with  the  antici- 
pated death  of  Antiochus.5  The  little  horn  of  chapter  7,  who 
wears  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  and  thinks  to  change  the 
times  and  the  law,  must  also  be  Antiochus,  and  the  four  kingdoms, 
those  already  indicated  in  the  image  vision.  The  coming  of  the 
little  horn  marks  the  beginning  of  the  end,  for  now  the  Ancient  of 
Days  sits  in  judgment  and  destroys  the  beast. 

The  vision  of  the  seventy  weeks,  in  chapter  9,  is  the  most 
baffling  of  the  book,  but  it  too  seems  to  terminate  in  Maccabean 
times ;  the  division  into  7  +  62+1  weeks  of  years  is  most  natu- 
rally explained  as  representing  the  time  from  Jeremiah's  prophecy 
of  seventy  years  to  the  edict  of  Cyrus  permitting  the  rebuilding; 
then  from  the  rebuilding  to  the  murder  of  the  high  priest  in  171  B.C.  ; 
finally  the  period  of  persecution  in  the  midst  of  which  comes  the 
desecration  of  the  temple. 

For  the  afflicted  sufferers  under  the  persecution  of  Antiochus, 
every  element  of  the  book  would  have  its  inspiring  message.  They 
are  told,  in  effect,  that  God  has  permitted  the  succession  of  great 
powers  to  rule  over  his  people,  from  Nebuchadrezzar  to  Antiochus, 
and  that  this  subjection  is  about  to  end  and  the  rule  of  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High  to  be  established. 

Daniel  and  Enoch  83-90  are  two  of  the  greatest  of  the  apoc- 
alypses ;  their  study  only  anticipates  the  ascendency  of  this  type 

1  Daniel  8  »-».  2  Ibid.  8 1J~14.  *  Ibid.  8  ». 

<  Ibid.  11  »n  .  «  Ibid.  11 «. 

2c 


386  THE   LITERATURE   OF  ANCIENT   ISRAEL 

of  writing  attained  in  the  two  centuries  before  and  after  Christ. 
In  this  unique  literary  form  the  unquenchable  faith  of  Israel  was 
embodied  by  a  multitude  of  writers,  until  the  form  was  adopted 
by  Christianity  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  where  the  old  apocalyp- 
tic conceptions  were  expanded  to  include  the  risen  Messiah  in 
heaven,  about  to  come  and  establish  his  reign  on  earth. 

Consideration  of  the  later  development  of  apocalypse  has  led 
us,  for  the  moment,  far  beyond  -the  limits  of  time  properly  included 
within  the  present  volume.  One  other  book  coming  from  the  times 
of  the  first  generation  of  Maccabees,  or  very  shortly  after,  remains 
to  be  considered.  Esther  is  a  story  that  seeks  to  account  for 
the  origin  of  the  late  Jewish  feast  of  Purim  and,  unintentionally, 
witnesses  to  the  bitter  hatred  engendered  in  the  souls  of  the  har- 
assed people.  Almost  the  only  noble  or  ennobling  element  in  the 
book  is  the  devotion  of  Esther  to  the  cause  of  her  people,  as  she 
ventures  her  life,  saying:  so  will  I  go  in  unto  the  king,  which  is 
not  according  to  the  law ;  and  if  I  perish,  I  perish.1 

One's  estimate  of  the  book  as  a  skilful  piece  of  narrative  writing 
will  be  much  higher  than  its  evaluation  spiritually  and  ethically. 
The  story  as  such  is  orderly,  clear,  interesting,  and  progressive, 
leading  on  well  to  the  culmination  in  the  establishment  of  the  feast 
and  Mordecai's  charge  to  observe  it,  for  which  the  whole  is  told. 
The  writer  accomplishes  his  purpose  in  so  effective  a  manner  that 
to-day  "manuscripts  of  the  Book  of  Esther  are  more  numerous 
than  of  any  other  portion  of  the  Old  Testament."2  If  the  charm 
of  Israel's  early  stories  is  lacking  and  some  of  their  spontaneity 
and  wonderful  selection  of  the  most  effective  elements  are  not 
found  in  this  comparatively  late  story,  the  gift  of  vivid,  effective 
narration  has  not  been  lost  during  the  Greek  age ;  to  this  both 
Daniel  and  Esther  testify.  Despite  its  hortatory  purpose,  the 
book  of  Esther  contains  a  succession  of  scenes  no  less  striking 
than  the  one  of  the  banquet,  and  culminating  in  an  exhortation, 
the  more  effective  because  indirect. 

So  the  king  and  Haman  came  to  banquet  with  Esther  the  queen.  And 
the  king  said  again  unto  Esther  on  the  second  day  at  the  banquet  of 
wine,  What  is  thy  petition,  queen  Esther  ?  and  it  shall  be  granted  thee : 

1  Esther  4  ".  2  Paton,  Esther,  in  Int.  Crit.  Com. 


LITERATURE   OF  THE   EARLY  MACCABEAN   ERA    387 

and  what  is  thy  request  ?  even  to  the  half  of  the  kingdom  it  shall  be  per- 
formed. Then  Esther  the  queen  answered  and  said,  If  I  have  found  favor 
in  thy  sight,  O  king,  and  if  it  please  the  king,  let  my  life  be  given  me  at  my 
petition,  and  my  people  at  my  request :  for  we  are  sold,  I  and  my  people, 
to  be  destroyed,  to  be  slain,  and  to  perish.  But  if  we  had  been  sold  for 
bondmen  and  bondwomen,  I  had  held  my  peace,  although  the  adversary 
could  not  have  compensated  for  the  king's  damage.  Then  spake  the 
king  Ahasuerus  and  said  unto  Esther  the  queen,  Who  is  he,  and  where  is 
he,  that  durst  presume  in  his  heart  to  do  so?  And  Esther  said,  An 
adversary  and  an  enemy,  even  this  wicked  Haman.  Then  Haman  was 
afraid  before  the  king  and  the  queen.  And  the  king  arose  in  his  wrath 
from  the  banquet  of  wine  and  went  into  the  palace  garden :  and  Haman 
stood  up  to  make  request  for  his  life  to  Esther  the  queen ;  for  he  saw 
that  there  was  evil  determined  against  him  by  the  king.1 

With  the  book  of  Esther,  our  study  has  included  all  the  ex- 
tant writings  of  ancient  Israel  down  to  the  latest  that  received 
recognition  in  the  Hebrew  canon.  No  Hebrew  book  outside  of 
the  canon  antedating  200  B.C.  has  been  preserved.  From  the 
early  part  of  the  second  century  B.C.  forward  many  extra-canonical 
writings  exist,  though  commonly  not  in  the  Hebrew  language. 
We  have  included  those  written  during  the  period  under  survey,  in 
order  to  make  our  study  of  the  literature  of  ancient  Israel  as 
complete  as  possible  down  to  the  death  of  Simon  Maccabeus. 

Esther?1-7. 


INDEX 


ABBAM-ABRAHAM  :     Stories   concerning, 

74-75,  100-102,  299-300. 
ACROSTIC  POEMS,  247-248. 
ACTS  :  Book  of  Acts  of  Solomon,  257- 

258. 

AGUB:   Words  of,  351 ;   prayer  of,  351. 
ALPHABET  :   Origin  of,  10  and  Note  2. 
AMORITE  MIGRATION,  2. 
AMOS:    Book  of,    105-119;    contrasted 

with    Hosea,     127 ;      compared    with 

Micah,    163-164;     significance,    171- 

174. 
ANNALS  :  Of  united  kingdom,  67,  257 ; 

of  Judah,  67,  257-258 ;  of  Israel,  257- 

258. 
ANTIOCHTTS  EPIPHANES  :   Persecution  of, 

375. 
APOCALYPSE  :  Prototype  in  Ezekiel,  241 ; 

development  of,  378-386. 
ABAMEAN  MIGRATION,  4. 
ARK  :    Prayers  connected  with,  17. 
ASAPH  :    Collection  of  Psalms,  133,  364. 
ASSYRIA  :    First  contact  of  Israel  with, 

96 ;    Jehu's  tribute  to,  96 ;    destroys 

Northern  Israel,   124,   153;    Judah  a 

vassal  of,  139—140 ;    campaign  of  701 

B.C.,     156—162 ;      Nahum's    prophecy 

against,  201. 

BABYLONIA  :  Antiquity  of  civilization,  1 ; 
source  of  stories  of  Garden,  Babel, 
Deluge,  79-80 ;  Deluge  narrative,  79- 
84  ;  lord  of  Palestine,  212  ;  destroys 
Jerusalem  and  carries  into  exile,  212- 
213  ;  fall  of,  262,  277. 

BALAAM  ORACLES,  42. 

BETHEL:  Scene  of  Amos's  preaching, 
109 ;  possible  hymnal  of  sanctuary, 
130. 

BLESSING  :  Of  Jacob,  41 ;   of  Moses,  130. 

BURDEN  :  Form  of  prophetic  oracle,  162, 
266. 

CANAANITE  MIGRATION,  2. 
CENTRALIZATION  OF  WORSHIP,  177-179. 
CHRONICLES  :  Of  kings  of  Judah.  257- 

258 ;  of  kings  of  Israel,  258 ;   books  of 

1  and  2,  303-306. 


CONQUEST,    HEBREW    OF    CANAAN,    6; 

late  conception  of,  85. 
CREATION  :    Prophetic  account  of,  71— 

72,  295  ;  priestly  account  of,  295-296 ; 

Babylonian  account  of,  298-299. 
CUNEIFORM    WHITING  :     Borrowed    by 

Semites,   1 ;    widespread  use,  4 ;    use 

in  Canaan,  10. 
CYRUS,  262,  269,  277. 

DAN  :  Possible  hymnal  of  sanctuary,  136. 

DANIEL,  BOOK  OF,  378,  382-383. 

DAVID  :  Outlaw  life,  36 ;  author  of 
dirges,  36—41 ;  musician,  37 ;  possi- 
ble psalms  of  age  of,  43-45 ;  natural 
leadership,  60 ;  David-Saul  stories, 
57-60 ;  story  of  court  and  family  life, 
60-65 ;  compilation  of  stories  with 
Ephraimite  Samuel  document,  211; 
"Last  Words  of,"  230. 

DEBORAH,  SONG  OF,  17-24. 

DECALOGUE  OF  DEUTERONOMY:  Com- 
pared with  Exodus  form,  20,  179. 

DELUGE  NARRATIVE  :  Hebrew,  72-74, 
79,  297 ;  Babylonian,  79-84. 

DEUTERONOMY,  BOOK  OF,  175-189;  origin, 
175-178, 180-184;  discovery  in  temple, 
178 ;  literary  influence,  184,  251-261 ; 
completion  of,  255 ;  general  form  of, 
303. 

DIRGE  :  Metre,  22 ;  in  first  English 
poetry,  41 ;  of  David,  36-41 ;  in 
Amos,  111;  in  Isaiah,  145—146;  in 
Micah,  164;  in  Ezekiel,  244-246; 
book  of  Lamentations,  246—250. 

DIVISION  OF  KINGDOM,  66. 

DOOM-SONG:  In  Amos,  112-115;  in 
Isaiah,  152. 

DRAMA  :  Composite  form  compared  to 
prophecy,  119 ;  Job  compared  to,  333— 
334 ;  Song  of  Songs  considered  as,  360. 

ECCLESIASTES,  BOOK  OF,  337-343. 

ECCLESIASTICUS,  BOOK  OF,  353-358. 

EGYPT  :  Early  influence  on  Canaan,  2 ; 
paronomasia  in  literature,  16 ;  story 
of  Anpu  and  Bata,  85  ;  tempts  Judah 
to  revolt,  156,  221;  defeats  Josiah, 


389 


390 


INDEX 


202 ;  lord  of  Palestine,  212 ;  Ezekiel's 
dirge  over,  245-246. 

ELEGY:  Metre,  22;  in  first  English 
poetry,  41 ;  of  David,  36-41 ;  in 
Amos,  111;  in  Isaiah,  145-146;  in 
Micah,  164;  in  Ezekiel,  244-246; 
book  of  Lamentations,  246-250. 

ELIJAH  :  Significance  in  Israel's  develop- 
ment, 90 ;  book  of  stories  concerning, 
90-93  ;  epoch-making  principles,  93- 
95. 

ELISHA  :  In  earliest  prose  of  Northern 
Israel,  88 ;  many  stories  late,  93 ; 
connection  with  overthrow  of  Ahab's 
house,  90,  96. 

ENOCH,  BOOK  OF,  378,  381-384. 

EPHRAIMITE  HISTORY,  96-104 ;  extent 
of,  97,  99 ;  date  of  composition,  97 ; 
literary  qualities,  102-104 ;  later  ad- 
ditions, 203 ;  united  with  Judcan 
document,  204-205. 

EPHKAIMITE  SAMUEL  DOCUMENT,  205- 
211. 

ESTHER,  BOOK  OF,  386-387. 

EXILE  :  Prophecy  and  elegy  of  early, 
233-250 ;  historical  writing  during, 
251-261 ;  songs  and  oracles  of  closing 
years,  262-277. 

EXODUS  :  Date,  5 ;  commemoration  in 
early  song,  1 1-22 ;  book  of :  early 
Jadean  strand  in,  76-77 ;  early 
Ephraimite  strand  in,  103 ;  late 
priestly  strand  in,  300 ;  general  plan 
and  scope,  302-303. 

EZEKIEL:  Book  of,  233-246;  methods 
of  teaching,  234,  238-239 ;  individual- 
ism, 234-235,  239 ;  inaugural  vision, 
235-238;  symbolism,  237-238,  240- 
241 ;  influence  on  literature,  238 ; 
plans  for  restoration,  241-243 ;  dirge 
over  Tyre,  244-245  ;  dirge  over  Egypt, 
245-246. 

EZRA,  BOOK  OF,  306. 

FLOOD  NARRATIVE  :  Hebrew,  72-74,  79, 
297 ;  Babylonian,  79-84. 

GARDEN  OF  EDEN  :  Story  of,  71 ;  Baby- 
lonian origin,  79. 

GENESIS,  BOOK  OF  :  Early  Judean  strand 
in,  71-76 ;  early  Ephraimite  strand 
in,  99—103 ;  late  priestly  strand  in, 
295-300  ;  general  plan  and  scope,  302. 

GIDEON-JERUBBAAL  STORY,  68-70,  97- 
99. 

GlLOAMESH    EPIC,  79. 

GNOMIC  WISDOM  :  Beginnings,  231-232; 


collections   of  in   Proverbs,    343-345, 
347-349 ;   in  Ecclus.,  353-358. 

HABAKKUK,  BOOK  OF,  220. 

HAGQAI,  BOOK  OF,  278-279. 

HAMMURABI,  CODE  OF,  84. 

HEBRAIC  MIGRATION,  5. 

HEXATEUCH  :     Meaning    of    term,    97, 

Note    2;      completion    of,    301-302; 

general  view  of,  301-303. 
HOLINESS  CODE  :   Lev.  17-26,  293. 
HOSEA,  BOOK  OF,  119-124;    contrasted 

with   Amos,    127 ;     significance,    171- 

174 ;    compared  with  Jeremiah,   194- 

195,  196-197. 
HOUSEWIFE,  POEM  IN  PRAISE  OF,  352. 

IMMANUEL  PROPHECY,  150-151. 

INDIVIDUALISM:  In  Jeremiah,  217-219, 
223-224  •  in  Ezekiel,  234-235,  239. 

ISAAC,  STORY  OF  OFFERING,  101-102. 

ISAIAH:  Book  of  chs.  1-39,  139-161: 
inaugural  vision,  140—142 ;  song  of 
vineyard,  144  ;  dirge  over  monopolists, 
146;  "the  great  arraignment,"  148— 
149  ;  Immanuel  prophecy,  150-151 ; 
catholic  outlook,  157  ;  compared  with 
Homer,  161 ;  exilic  oracles  in  chs.  1- 
39,  262-266;  "Second  Isaiah,"  chs. 
40-55,  266-277 ;  chs.  56-66,  280-283. 

JACOB,  BLESSING  OF,  41. 

JASHAR,  BOOK  OF,  43,  57. 

JEHOVAH  :  Earliest  use  of  this  form  of 
name,  5,  Note  2 ;  book  of  wars  of,  24, 
42. 

JEREMIAH:  Book  of,  192-200,  212-219, 
220-224;  inaugural  vision,  192-194; 
compared  with  Hosea,  194 ;  relation  to 
Josiah's  reform,  199-200 ;  methods  of 
teaching,  213,  221,  222;  dictates  to 
Baruch,  214;  individualism,  217-219, 
224 ;  prophecy  of  new  covenant,  223 ; 
late  prophecy  in  chs.  50-51,  266. 

JERUBBAAL  STORY,  68-70,  97-99. 

JESUS  BEN-SIRACH  :  Author  of  Ecclesias- 
ticus,  353-358. 

JOB,  BOOK  OF,  321-336. 

JOEL,  BOOK  OF,  315-317 ;  apocalyptic 
character,  379. 

JONAH,  BOOK  OF,  313-315. 

JOSEPH  :  Stories  of,  85,  104 ;  lofty  con- 
ception of  God  in  narrative  of,  251. 

JOSHUA,  BOOK  OF,  255,  300 ;  early 
Judean  strand  in,  76,  78 ;  late  priestly 
strand  in,  300  ;  general  plan  and  scope, 
303. 


INDEX 


391 


JOSIAH  :  Reform  of,  178-179  ;  death,  202. 

JUDAS  MACCABEUS,  375-376. 

JUDEAN  HISTORY,  66-86  ;  extent,  68,  70 ; 
uniqueness,  68 ;  literary  qualities,  85- 
86,  103-104;  historical  worth,  85; 
date,  85-86;  later  additions,  203; 
united  with  Ephraimite  document, 
204-205. 

JUDGES  :  Stories  possibly  originally  in 
poetic  form,  20,  Note  2 ;  collection 
of  tales  concerning,  68,  70,  97 ;  book 
of  composite,  97 ;  final  composition, 
252 ;  place  in  series  of  histories,  303. 

KINGS,   BOOKS  OF,   256-261 ;    place  in 

series  of  histories,  303. 
KORAHITE  COLLECTION  OF  PSALMS,  134, 

364. 

LAMENTATIONS  :      Book     of,     246-250 ; 

metre,  22,  247 ;   ascribed  to  Jeremiah, 

246-247  ;  date,  250  ;  of  David,  36-41 ; 

of   Amos,    111;     of   Isaiah,    145-146; 

of  Micah,  164 ;    of  Ezekiel,  244-246. 
LEMUEL,  WORDS  OF  KING,  352. 
LEVITICUS:    Chs.  17-26,  293;    place  of 

book  in  Hexateuch,  303. 
LOST  TRIBES,  137. 

MACCABEAN  :  Revolt,  375-376 ;  psalms, 
376-378. 

MACCABEUS,  JUDAS,  375-376. 

MALACHI,  BOOK  OF,  287-290. 

MESHA'S  INSCRIPTION,  10,  89-90. 

METRE  IN  HEBREW  POETRY,  25,  30-33 ; 
Josephus  on,  25—26 ;  elegiac,  222. 

MICAH  :  Book  of,  163-169 ;  compared 
with  Amos,  163-164 ;  dirge  for  mo- 
nopolists, 164 ;  dramatic  dialogue, 
166-169. 

MOABITE  STONE,  10,  89,  and  Note. 

MONOPOLY  :  Condemned  by  Isaiah,  106 ; 
condemned  by  Micah,  164. 

MOSES:   Blessing  of,  130;   song  of,  231. 

NAHUM,  BOOK  OF,  201-202. 

NATURE  IN  HEBREW  LITERATURE,  167- 

168,  268. 
NEHEMIAH  :     Literature   of   his   reform, 

287-292;    personal  memoir,  290-292; 

book  of,  306. 
NEW  COVENANT  :    Jeremiah's  prophecy, 

223. 
NORTHERN  ISRAEL:    Late  development 

of  prose,  67 ;    early  prose  narratives, 

86-95 ;    advance  in  Elijah's  teaching, 

93 ;  downfall  of  nation,  124,  153,  258- 


259 ;  contribution  to  literature,  130- 
138. 

NUMBERS,  BOOK  OF:  Early  Judean 
strand  in,  76,  77-78;  early  Ephra- 
imite strand  in,  103 ;  late  priestly 
strand  in,  300 ;  general  plan  and 
scope,  303. 

NUMERICAL  PROVERBS,  351-352,  358. 

OBADIAH,  BOOK  OF,  250. 

PALESTINE  :    Origin  of  name,  34. 

PARALLELISM  IN  HEBREW  POETRY,  27- 
30. 

PARONOMASIA  :  In  Samson  verses,  16  ; 
in  Egyptian  writings,  16 ;  in  Isaiah, 
145  ;  in  Micah,  165—166 ;  in  Jeremiah, 
192. 

PHILISTINES  :  Origin,  34 ;  dominance 
over  Israel,  34. 

PHOENICIANS  :  Migration,  2 ;  influence 
of  religion  in  Israel,  94,  95,  96. 

PRIESTLY  :  Law,  293-294 ;  history,  293- 
308. 

PROSE  NARRATIVE  :  Late  origin,  46,  62 ; 
comparison  of  development  in  Israel 
and  Britain,  46-48,  67-68;  earliest 
examples  in  Israel,  48 ;  qualities  of 
early,  56,  59-60,  62,  75-78,  92-93,  104 ; 
style  of  Deuteronomy,  184-189 ;  style 
of  late  Samuel  document,  209-211 ; 
of  Deuteronomic  editors,  252-254,  255- 
256,  260-261 ;  of  late  priestly  his- 
torians, 293-308  ;  view  of  three  great 
eras,  302,  307-308. 

PROVERBS,  BOOK  OF,  343-352 ;  date  of 
completion,  344. 

PSALMS  :  Of  early  monarchy,  43—45 ;  of 
Northern  Israel,  130-137;  of  Asaph, 
133,  364;  of  Korah,  134,  364;  of 
divided  kingdom,  226-230  ;  of  restora- 
tion period,  283-286 ;  of  closing  cen- 
tury of  Persian  rule,  317-320;  book 
of  Psalms  3-41  compiled  in  Persian 
age,  320 ;  early  David  book,  320,  364  ; 
book  of  Psalms  42-89,  364-365; 
Pilgrim  Psalter  (Songs  of  Ascents  or 
Degrees),  365-368;  Hallel  or  Praise 
groups,  368-373 ;  book  of  Psalms  90- 
150,  373 ;  pentateuchal  arrangement 
of  entire  collection,  373 ;  the  Psalter 
as  a  whole,  373-374 ;  imprecatory  ele- 
ment, 373-374 ;  Maccabean,  376-378. 

RED  SEA:  Song  of  deliverance,  11-12; 
historical  character  of  early  Judean 
account,  85. 


392 


INDEX 


RESTORATION    PERIOD  :     Literature    of, 

262-286. 

RHAPSODY  PROPHETIC,  118. 
RUTH,  BOOK  OF,  309-312. 

SAMARITANS  :    Origin  of,  137. 

SAMSON  :  Riddles,  16 ;  paronomasia, 
16. 

SAMUEL  :  Chooses  Saul,  35 ;  Ephra- 
imite  Samuel  document,  205-211; 
books  of,  completed,  255-256;  place 
in  series  of  histories,  303. 

SAUL  :  Selection  by  Samuel,  35 ;  be- 
comes King,  35 ;  weakness,  35-36 ; 
early  stories,  48-55 ;  Saul-David 
stories,  57-60 ;  compilation  of  stories 
with  Ephraimite  Samuel  document, 
211. 

SCYTHIAN  INVASION  :  Occasion  of  Ze- 
phaniah,  190-191. 

SEMITES  :  Antiquity  of  civilization,  1 ; 
migrations  from  Arabia,  2;  territory 
of  northern,  2 ;  territory  of  southern, 
2. 

SERVANT,  SUFFERING  :  Poem  of,  272- 
274. 

SLUGGARD  :  Poems  on,  349-350. 

SOLOMON  :  Early  document  concerning 
accession,  61-65 ;  foreign  marriages 
and  high  places,  94 ;  book  of  acts  of, 
257—258 ;  impersonation  in  Ecclesi- 
astes,  338 ;  relation  to  wisdom  litera- 
ture, 348,  Note  4 ;  Song  of,  359-364. 

SONG:  Of  Sword,  13;  of  Well,  13-14; 
taunt  songs,  15,  219,  220 ;  of  Deborah, 
17-24 ;  of  Vineyard,  144 ;  of  Moses, 
231 ;  of  Youth  and  Age,  340-341 ;  of 


Solomon    (of    Songs),    359-364;     of 
Ascents  or  Degrees,  365-368. 

SONS  OF  THE  PROPHETS,  35. 

SUFFERING  SERVANT,  POEM  OF,  272—274. 

SWORD,  SONG  OF,  13. 

TAUNT-SONG:  Against  Moab,  15;  of 
Jeremiah,  219 ;  of  Habakkuk  against 
Babylon,  220. 

TEKOA  :  Home  of  Amos,  situation  and 
scenery,  110. 

TELL-EL-AMARNA  TABLETS,  3,  10,  93. 

TEMPTATION,  STORY  OF,  72-73. 

TRADITIONS  :  Origin  of  Israel's  prehis- 
toric, 6-8. 

TWELVE,  THE  BOOK  OF  THE,  105. 

UNKNOWN,  THE  GREAT,  266-277,  282- 
285. 

WARS  OF  YAHWEH,  BOOK  OF,  24,  42. 
WELL,  SONG  OF,  13-14. 

WlNEBIBBER,   POEM  ON,   350. 

WISDOM  LITERATURE  :  Beginnings,  231- 
232  ;  book  of  Job,  321-336  ;  in  Greek 
age  (Eccl.,  Prov.,  Ecclus.),  337-358. 

WISE  MEN  :   A  distinct  class,  232. 

WRITING:  Earliest  Hebrew,  11;  writ- 
ing prophets,  106,  Note. 

YAHWEH  :  Hebrew  form  of  Jehovah,  5, 
Note  2 ;  book  of  wars  of,  24,  42. 

ZECHAHIAH:   Book  of  chs.  1-8,  278-280; 

apocalyptic     characteristics     of     chs. 

9-14,  379-381. 
ZEPHANIAH,  BOOK  OF,  190-192. 


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